Of Rangers and Guardians
by DaemonicKitten
Summary: PRNSxFFX xover. Blake gets blasted into the world of Spira, and has to find a way home. Until then, he goes on a pilgrimage with...different versions of his friends. He thinks he's the only one, wait until he finds out otherwise. Blake and Tori fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : Squaresoft, I think, owns Final Fantasy X. Disney, I think, owns PRNS. I don't own either.

**Note** : This idea _just_ hit me! It's taking a Ranger from Earth and somehow sending him to spira to see his friends, but not as he knows them.

**Summary** : Tori x Blake centric fic. Blake's fighting with his friends in a battle one day when he's hit by a blast and knocked out. When he comes to, he'll find that nothing's what he remembered. Just where is he, and why are his friends acting so weird? Tori's a _what_?

**Rating** : Going for 'M' for language.

**Legend** :

"Speaking"

_thoughts_

_**telepathic communication and any messages**_

**dreams, visions, flashbacks, and memories**

(scene, POV, time changes)

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"What's that?"

Turning his head from the computer, Cam noticed the Thunder brothers behind him and had to bite his tongue to keep from smarting off at them. Turning back, he shook his head and sighed. "First of all, I'd appreciate it if you knocked once in a while. Second, I don't know." he replied with a slight hint of irritation in his voice.

Hunter raised an eyebrow, and shook his head. "Sorry to ask." he said lowly.

Smacking his brother on the chest, Blake smirked. "Relax bro. It's not his fault he's got a stick up his ass."

Before either of them could laugh at that comment, a series of beeps came from the computer and they immediately turned their attention to a strange image that came up. It looked to be a ruin of a great city, but many materials and metal creations there didn't seem to resemble anything they'd ever seen before.

"There's an obscure legend here that says it's what's left of a once great metropolis called 'Zanarkand'." Cam informed them in a breathy voice, obviously impressed by what he was seeing.

He wasn't the only one. Hunter was stunned into speechlessness, a first for him, and Blake was staring with wide eyes at the images before him. Taking a deep breath, he asked the question on both his and his brother's minds. "What happened?"

Typing a few commands into the computer, Cam shook his head. "It says a war. There's more but I can't seem to find it. Something about 'Sin' and...'Summoners'?" Spinning around, he frowned at himself as he faced the duo. "This isn't an Earth city."

"Uh...what?" Hunter finally spoke, shaking his head and looking at his asian friend in shock.

Blake frowned and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "That doesn't make sense man. If it's not an Earth city, what's it doing on Earth?"

"Again, I don't know." Cam answered gravely. Turning back to his computer, he looked over more of the supposed 'legend' and sighed. "Zanarkand. One of the biggest cities on 'Spira'. It was said to be the most advanced place the planet had ever seen. 'Machina's, and 'Blitz' stars everywhere."

"Dude, what's a...machin...a?" Blake hesitated in saying the word. "It almost sounds like machine."

"That's because that's what it is. Machina are what they called machines and all types of technology." He paused for a moment before typing up some more, and pictures of strange looking, what everyone guessed, was machines, came up. They were rusted and falling apart, laying in heaps on the ground. He typed even more, and pictures of what looked like giant balls of water in the air came up. "This is a Blitzball sphere. It's where the sport was played."

"Blitzball?" Hunter repeated with his eyebrow still raised. "A sport? It looks like a giant round swimming pool Cam." he stated dryly.

Shaking his head, Cam resisted the urge to throw Hunter in a lake and tell him to go for a swim. "It's an underwater sport, requiring that you learn to hold your breath for close to 10 minutes, and it increases stamina, as well as strength and defense." Looking at the screen a moment, he read more of the legend. "It says that it was a popular sport, and sometimes people fought with 'blitzballs', a more durable type of volleyball. It worked wonders against killing fast or flying 'fiends'."

"Ok whoa. Wait a minute." Blake said holding up his hands and furrowing his eyebrows. "Fiends?"

"Monsters." Cam clarified. "They existed outside of towns everywhere and people always armed themselves as they went to travel."

"O...k. I guess that makes sense." Blake replied, though he didn't understand squat all about it.

Cam swivelled back around and stood up. "I'm going to check it out." he announced as he made his way to the door.

"Cameron." The small guinea pig that was their Sensei, called, finally speaking up. "You should not go alone."

Pausing for a quick moment, he turned and smirked. "Good idea father. Hunter and Blake. You're with me."

Hunter groaned and tilted his head back, and Blake let his head drop and sighed in irritation.

"That's what you get for coming here and bothering me." Cam scolded as he crossed his arms and waited for the Rangers to join him.

Exchanging a look, Hunter and Blake shook their heads and took their pose. They raised their hands into the air to morph, but paused, and Blake spoke up. "Does this mean we have to morph?"

Letting his eyes narrow, Cam nodded and took his own stance. "Samouri Storm. Ranger Form. HA!" he called as he morphed into the Green Samouri Ranger.

Following his lead, the brothers morphed next. "Thunder Storm. Ranger Form. HA!" They too morphed into their standard Navy and Crimson Ranger outfits and took their final poses. "Power of Thunder!"

(Zanarkand Ruins)

They'd taken Cam's Samouri Chopper there. It was a secluded place, not even an island, but a mostly sunken city that had only just appeared. Walking around the ruins, Blake stepped on a lose stone, causing the bridge below him to collapse, and fell into the icy water with a startled yelp.

"Blake!" Hunter and Cam cried as they ran to the edge of the bridge. They watched the water for a moment, before they noticed a figure swimming to the surface and relaxed.

"You ok bro?" Hunter called as the Navy clad figure's head emerged from the water and he gasped.

Looking up, Blake groaned at just how high up they were. "Yeah man, I'm fine." he called back. Treading water to stay in place, he looked around. "Now how to I get back up there?" he questioned himself quietly. He saw a small edge of a platform that was crumbled and realized he could probably climb that. Swimming over, he reached up and grabbed a jutting piece of stone, only to have it fall lose and him to fall back in the water.

"This is getting old." he muttered to himself as he tried again. This time, his hand caught purchase and he managed to climb out. What really surprised him, was that he was facing what looked like a treasure chest from a fairytale in front of him, and his friends approaching slowly from a small path to his left. "What the..." Getting up, he approached the chest, and reached out to open it.

He didn't expect the chest lid to fly open and fell back in surprise when it did, but nothing jumped out and it didn't explode, so he leaned forward again. _Ok, this is kinda freaky, but also kinda cool too._ He thought a he looked inside.

"A huge ass treasure chest for a pouch?" he questioned incredulously as he took the small bag. It was surpringly heavy and he opened it and reached in, eyes widening in shock when it went up to his shoulder. "What the hell?" he cried as he looked at how far in his arm went.

"Bro?" came Hunter's shocked and confused voice. "Uhh...mind telling us why your arm's in a bag?"

Looking at his brother, he took hold of something at the bottom of the pouch and pulled his arm out, barely managing to keep hold of both the item and the bag in his shock as the pouch returned to it's tiny size.

"O...k." Hunter stated. "I think I'm seeing things."

Cam shook his head and approached with a scanner. Hitting a few buttons, he tilted his head slightly. "I think there's some kind of enchantment on the bag." he stated. "I'm not getting much information, but I think it's supposed to do that."

Opening his hand, Blake frowned at the two tiny vials in his hand and looked at the Green Ranger.

Taking the hint, he ran scans on them too, and shook his head again. "I'm not getting anything on them. Just that they're made up of unheard herbs or something." Looking at the other two, he shrugged. "I think they're some kind of medicine." he guessed.

Hearing a roar behind them, Blake looked up as the others spun around and gasped as his eyes widened. Quickly putting the vials back in the pouch, he tied it to his waist and quickly stood up.

"The hell is that thing?" Hunter cried, looking at the strange monster behind them.

It looked like a bunch of monsters combined into one. It had a large blue body with a snake as a tail and two heads. One looked like a goat, another like a lion. Seeing them just looking at it, it let out another roar and rushed at them, breathings fire as it ran.

Barely dodging out of the way, the Rangers armed themselves and took up positions around the creature. "Whatever it is, it's obviously looking for a fight!" Cam called, swinging at the monster, and knocking it back.

Joining in on the fight, Blake jabbed out and caught the creature in the stomache, ripping a hole across it. Pulling back, he'd expected the wound to bleed or something, but he didn't expect the colored light to float out of it as the monster staggered back. "Ok. Now I think _I'm_ seeing things!" he cried, rubbing his hand over his visor and blinking for a moment.

Shaking his head, Hunter jumped up and stabbed the creature in the back, pulling away and letting his defence down as the monster fell to the ground and dissipated in a flury of balls of colored lights. "Not unless we're hallucinating together." he said lowly, tilted his head and putting his staff away.

Taking the scanner out quickly, Cam scanned the fading remains of the monster. "It looks like some kind of fiend. It's listed in the legend as a 'Chimera'. Those lights we saw are apparently called 'pyreflies'. There isn't much about that, except it says they're the souls of the dead. Something about not being 'Sent', and anger and sorrow that corrupts the soul and turns it into a fiend."

"Hey! It left something behind!" Blake called as he approached. Looking at the ground, there looked to be a golden feather and a couple of gold coins.

"Hmmm..." Cam scanned the items as Blake picked them up. "The feather is listed as having restoritive powers, and I think the coins are probably local money from Spira." He nodded to the pouch. "I think the pouches were used to carry the items. They'd only get so heavy, but could hold a lot."

Nodding, Blake put the items in the pouch and looked around. "Well I have to agree with you Cam. This isn't an Earth city." he said grimly.

Hunter nodded. "We might wanna call the others in case there's more of these...fiends."

Raising his morpher to his mouth, Cam called the others, telling them to either take Shane's hawk zord or Tori's Dolphin zord to get here. Then he changed his mind and told them to bring the Dolphin zord. "It can travel underwater and we can use it to check out the parts of the ruins we can't get to." he explained to the others.

They resumed their search of the place, splitting up to cover more ground. As they parted ways, Blake was left to himself as he wandered the ruins of the once great city. "What could've caused this kind of damage?" he wondered quietly. It didn't seem like something a war could do. Sure, wars were used to get ride of cities, but it was the people, not the place they were after. So exactly _what_ destroyed this city beyond any hopes of repair?

Growling behind him made him spin around, and he cried out in surprise to see a giant creature behind him, growling menacingly. _Ok, so the Chimera thing was kinda scarey, but this? HOLY SHIT!_ he thought in terror.

As he stood shaking, he took a good look at the thing that seemed to want to eat him for lunch. It had an almost wolf-like face, with long blue horns and a fiery mane that went down the back of it's neck. It literally had flames coming out from behind it's elbows and hips, spikes on it's back, and claws longer and thicker than his Thunder Staff. The strange thing, is it also had a necklace of beads around it's neck, and what looked like bangles on it's wrists as it dug it's front legs into the ground.

"Umm...nice, uhh...doggie?" he panted as he slowly backed away. "S-s-stay!"

The creature opened it's mouth, and before he had a chance to dodge it, shot a ball of fire out. As he cried out in terror and shock, the ball hit him dead in the center of the chest and he was thrown painfully into a nearby ruined building. Collapsing in a heap on the ground, he was vaguely aware of a voice speaking in his head as darkness over took him.

_**I am sorry. It was the only way to take you to the Summoner. Please help her.**_

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Ok, so this is a bit of a teaser. I'm still working on the fic, but for my friend JuseaPeterson, I wanted to post the first chapter so she could get a hint of what I'm planning. Plent of Tori/Blake to come. I hope you like it.

R+R please, and let me know.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	2. Entering Spira and Meeting Al Bhed

**Disclaimer** : I don't own either Power Rangers Ninja Storm, or Final Fantasy X. I only own the computer I'm typing on.

**Note** : From her on out, for most of the story, most of the characters will be OOC. And Ninja Storm characters besides two, one being Blake and the other being a surprise, are different versions. That means that OOC for them, is in character for them in Spira. You'll see what I mean, but please understand that they are purposely out of character for this story.

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(Blake's POV)

When I finally came to, I was aware of half floating in cool water and half lying on what looked like a broken platform of some kind. Pulling my head up with a pained grunt, I looked at my hands, realizing I was demorphed, and looked around, noticing that there was water all around me. "Hunter?" I called lightly.

I got no answer and was beginning to get afraid. "Anyone!" I called louder, in hopes one of my friends was nearby.

Still nothing.

Frowning and panting in fear, I looked around and fought tears. Was I all alone? "HEEEEYYYYYY!" I yelled as loud as I could. _I can't be all alone!_

A pelican-like bird near me, fluttered off at my scream, and I jumped, not having noticed it earlier. Shaking my head, I pulled my morpher to my mouth. _Maybe they couldn't find me and went back to Ops._ I thought hopefully. "Guys, can you hear me?" There was nothing but static. "Anyone! It's Blake!" I still got silence.

"Damn!" I swore as I looked around again. That's when it hit me that I didn't recognize the area I was in. It was a large ruin, like that city...Zanarkand, but it looked more...I don't know. Holy maybe? Like maybe some kind of temple?

Kicking away from the crumbled platform, I swam towards the remains of a large building. Noticing something glowing to my right, I swam for it and noticed a blue half ball on the ground, and a half hidden treasure chest. Going first to the chest, I opened it to find a slightly larger vial than what was in the pouch. "Shit The pouch!" I suddenly remembered.

Looking to my waist, I felt myself sigh in relief to see it was tied to my belt. Opening it, I placed the larger vial inside, and went over to the blue thing on the ground. Kneeling beside it, I hesitantly reached out, and paused as my hand hovered over it. "But..what if it..." I shook my head. It might be dangerous, it might not. The only way to find out was to touch it and see.

When I _did_ touch it, it glowed softly, and a small screen with writing appeared. "Al Bhed...compliation dictionary?" I muttered out loud. _What the hell's an 'Al Bhed' compilation dictionary?_

Shaking my head, I left it be and went back into the water. Seeing another small platform on the other side of the staircase I was originally heading to, I went over to that one too. Sure it might seem like I was taking a lot of detours, but if it meant finding something to help me figure out where I was, or how to get back home, I was game.

Another treasure chest and a strange glowing half sphere on a pillar. Going to the chest first, again, I opened it and picked up two of those golden feathers, and a green vial. Looking at the green vial with a wince, I realized it looked like some kind of poisonous liquid, and carefully put it in the pouch. Then I went over to the other sphere and touched it.

"What the...?"

_Eh dra myht frana pumdc uv mekrd emmisehyda dra pmylgacd hekrd Fedr Macalania pareht dra vuindr bemmyn oui cekrd muug hud uh dra mavd pid uh dra nekrd._

"Nope. Can't read it." I said with a frown. "What the hell kinda language is that?" Shaking my head, I turned and went back into the water, swimming for the large staircase. Climbing up, I noticed a glowing sphere on a small pedestal, and walked over to it. Touching it, I felt strangely restored and didn't realize just how tired or sore I was until I did that. "Whoa. Cool." I smirked. "Cam would love this!"

Then I frowned. _But Cam's not here._ Sighing, I crouched down and looked at the pathway I stood on. "No one's here. I'm all alone." Remembering what happened to send me here, I glared at the ground. "Am I dead?" _Whatever that thing was, it said the Summoner needed my help._

I snorted. "Like I care. All I want's to go home!" Then I sighed. "Man, Tori..." I was so hoping to see her today.

Getting up, I shook my head and began walking along what looked like a bridge that led into the building ahead of me. Stopping halfway, I looked over the edge and into the water. Statues, steps, and what looked like vehicles and gardens lay submerged in the water. I realized this place must have sunk since it was destroyed and wondered...did a war cause this too?

Suddenly the path below me shook, and I staggered back a step, trying to keep my balance. "Not again!: I cried as it gave way beneith me and I was sent sprawling into the waters below. Going straight for the surface, I noticed strange, giant green fish jumping in the water and circling me. "What now?" Pulling my morpher up as I tread water, I quickly morphed. "Thunder Storm. Ninja Form. HA!"

I guess I was surprised it actually worked. I don't know what I was expecting, but when the surge of power coursed through me and the uniform and weapons appeared, I felt comforted. At least I still had this.

Pulling out my Thunderstaff, I dove under the water, thankful my suit let me breath down there, and attacked the first of the green fish. Once I hit it, surprisingly cutting it in half with one stroke, it dissolved into more of thos 'pyrefly' things, and faded away. I noticed a few coins floating in the water, and not really knowing why, quickly swam to get them before turning to the others. _Ha! I can do this all day!_ I thought confidently.

That's when one of them hit me, leaving a nice little gash on my arm, and making me cry out in pain and surprise. "Damn those things bite hard!" I cried, realizing no one but me could hear my words. Glaring at the said fish, which I could've sworn was grinning at me, I swam forward, taking it out too.

_Two down, one to go._ I thought in determination, pruposely making sure I didn't get overconfident again. I grabbed the small tablets in a baggy that were floating and raised an eyebrow as I shook my head and put them in the pouch. _What the hell's up with these things?_ Just so you know, I was referring to both the monsters, and the items I was getting.

Focusing on the last fish, I felt my eyes widen when things began shaking violently, and struggled to keep my place. A giant fish with a cage-like stomach came swimming slowly into view. It had huge fin-like claws and tentacles running down the sides of it's head with glowing lights on the ends.

_Shit! If that thing's anything like that red thing that hit me..._ I felt my jaw drop as it suddenly dashed forward and chomped down on the green fish I'd been facing off against, biting it in half and shaking the bloody and broken body before spitting it out and turning to me. _...I'm dead!_

With a yell of terror, I swam quickly to the surface and looked around. I didn't see any way out of the water, but I _did_ notice an opening just under the surface about 20 feet away. _Great. More swimming._ I thought with distaste. Moving quickly, I ducked back under and made a b-line for that opening, the giant fish slowly gaining behind me.

_I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die..._ I chanted as I pushed myself forward as fast as I could possibly go. I had just reached the opening, my legs already inside the creature's open, giant mouth, when it hit the wall and I was pushed forward in a spin that made me hit my back hard on a wall. My heart was pounding a mile a minute and I was panting, struggling to get the necessary oxygen into my strained lungs.

Noticing a staircase next to me, leading out of the water, I slowly swam over to it and climbed out, noticing it led to a closed door. Rubbing my arm and side, and moaning in pain, I rolled my eyes. "Ok. Ow, that hurt." I mumbled as I pushed the heavy stone door open.

I gasped at what met me. A large room, no...that's not right. A _humungous_ room met me. Ruined pillars and piles of debris all over the place, three doors that looked like I could open them, and the remains of an old campfire in the center. Rubbing my arms, I hunched a bit at the cold air that met me. "Cold." I uttered through chattering teeth. _I've made it out of the frying pan and into the freezer._

I noticed that there wasn't enough wood left for a fire to burn, so went on a search for more that I could use. Two doors later, and a few vials and golden feathers, I'd found some flint and a large boquet of dried flowers, as well as a couple of pieces of wood. Going back to the main room, I noticed another one of those glowing spheres and dropped the fire stuff by the campfire as I went over to touch it.

Feeling restored, I grinned slightly. "Man, they should make these into things you can carry." I muttered. Going back, I lit the fire and sat next to it, demorphing and curling up with my knees against my chest and my arms around my knees.

_So where am I? This doesn't seem anything like that Zanarkand place. There weren't so many of those fiend things there, and at least there I wasn't..._ I paused and frowned, feeling tears come to my eyes. _I wasn't alone. I had my friends, my bro, and...Tori._ I really missed them, especially her. Despite how I acted, and the walls I put up, if there was one thing I didn't like, it was being alone.

Pulling out of my thoughts a little while later, I noticed the fire going out on me and my eyes widened. "Hey wait! Don't go out on me!" I cried. Rolling my eyes, I realized I was talking to a fire, and got up, intending to search for more wood.

That's when I heard the rumbling of thunder, saw a flash of lightning, and heard what sounded like claws running.

Looking up, I noticed a strange, almost spider-like creature running quickly around the wals, circling me, until it dropped down and landed in front of me with a bang. Jumping back a bit, I stared in shock at the thing. It had claws that resembled blades for legs, and a tiny head with a spike at the back, and it glared at me in a menacing way.

"Just great." I groaned. "Don't I ever get a break?"

_**If that's what you wish.**_

Gasping and spinning around quickly, not taking my eyes off the creature for more than a minute, I saw nothing else in the room. Turning back to the spider thing, I noticed it was launching at me and prepared to jump out of the way, but just as I was about to move, a flash caught my eyes and something came spinning out of the air and sliced the creature's face, making it jump back with a pained and probably startled screetch.

Looking at what fell, my eyes widened when I recognized my Thunder Blade. One of the blades was dug into the ground, and the other pointing skyward, the blades glowing an eery navy in the faint light. "What...?" Shaking my head, I quickly reached out and grabbed it, spinning it over my head and taking my stance. _At least something's looking up. But...how did that get here?_

Focusing on the battle, I ran forward and swung my blade in a circle, hitting the creature with each end, and them jumping back to avoid getting hit. It jumped at me, front legs extended to do damage, but I blocked them with the blade and kicked forward, hitting it's vulnerable stomach. It moved back, and stood shakily, seemingly regarding me for a moment.

That's when a door to my left blew open and I ducked down to avoid getting hit my flying debris. "Geez! Watch it!' I yelled, looking over. Four men with guns stood there, with another man in the front. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place him as he was wearing a mask and all leather, one-piece outfit. He had a strange device over one of his hands and walked forward to stand beside me as he adjusted his gloves and beckoned to the beast to attack.

Raising an eyebrow, I regarded the person, wondering why he looked so familiar. "You on my side?" I questioned warily. He looked at me a moment before turning back to the monster, and I shrugged. "Cool!"

Together we fought the creature. He ran forward and stuck his hand in, and I mean _in_ the monster, making me shudder in disgust, pulling away with what looked like a funky version of a grenade. Then he pulled what, I guessed was, the pin out, and threw it at the monster. We both ducked at the explosion, and it soon fell over, fading away into more of those pyreflies.

"That was a little too close." I muttered breathlessly. Now that the monster was gone, I sank to my knees, taking a breather, but before I could even get one breath, the four armed men came running forward and grabbed me by the hair, pulling me to my feet sharply and holding a knife to my throat. _Ok, OW! That hurts! _"What? Hey!" I cried, but I was immediatlely silenced when the guy holding me pressed the knife tighter and I felt a slight pain in my throat. I gulped nervously, eyeing the person who'd helped me fight the monster as they stood in front of me.

The man holding me began to speak, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. "Fryd ec drec? (What is this?)"

I didn't like the way he sounded confused and angry at the same time. I kind of wondered if these people were insane or something.

"Y fiend! Eh risyh teckieca! (A fiend! In human disguise!)" Another one yelled, and a gun was pointed to my head.

I opened my mouth to speak, but thought better of it. Instead I settled for glaring as coldly as I could at the guy. _I have no idea what he just said, but I _do_ know the word fiend! He better not have just said anything about feeding me to the fiends!_

Now the third man spoke, his voice cold and determined and I really didn't like the sound of it. "Oac! Ed ec cu! (Yes! It is so!)"

The last guy holding a gun also pointed it at my head and I was seriously getting tired of being held at gun point. "Fa gemm ed? (We kill it?)" he almost seemed to ask in a slightly excited tone.

_I may not understand what they're saying, but I don't like the looks of this._ I thought with a frown. That's when the final person spoke up and I felt my eyes widen from the familiar voice. I still couldn't place it from the language, but I _knew_ I knew him!

"Fyed! Fryd ev ed ec risyh? (Wait! What if it is human?)" he called in what I knew was alarm.

Man number four, as I decided to call him, pushed his gun a little harder against my temple and I closed my eyes and swallowed nervously. _Please, don't let this happen!_ I prayed. I wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but I was terrified of dying, and I thought...I was going to die...right then and there. "Drao yna dra cysa eh taydr. (They are the same in death.)" he spoke gravely.

"E vunpet ed! Fa pnehk ed fedr ic. (I forbid it! We bring it with us.)" he cried, coming up to me. He leaned in right close to my face and I pulled back nervously, not being able to move much since I was still being held.

"Geez! Back off man! I don't swing that way!" I yelled, making a face and struggling to back up._ Yeah, these people are definitely insane!_

The man just tilted his head before shaking it and leaning even closer to whipser in my ear. "Cunno. (Sorry.)"

Raising an eyebrow, I wondered what he said and why he sounded kind of sad. Before I had a chance to say anything further, however, I felt a sharp pain in my stomache and grunted as I was let go. Not being able to stand, I fell onto my stomache, noticing that they were walking away, except for two who picked me up and carried me. _That bastard punched me!_ was my final thought before darkness claimed me.

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Ok, this is chapter two. I hope you liked it. Again, besides Blake and one other character, they will all be OOC in this fic.

JuseaPeterson, just so you know, Blake and Tori will, for the most part, be in character. The others will most likely be really different...well...maybe except for the broody blonde :)

So R+R please!

Thank you.

Tenshi


	3. Meeting Dustin and Sin's Toxin

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

**Note** : I realize this is a shorter chapter. Sorry about that. They won't always be so short. Also, the '()' are the translated sayings, so even if Blake has no idea what they're saying, you do. :)

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(On a Ship, Normal POV)

When he finally woke up, Blake was aware of a pain in his stomach and frowned as he blinked his eyes and rubbed them, clearing up the residual blurriness. Looking around, he noticed he was on what looked like some strange kind of ship, and from the looks of the huge expanse of water in every direction he could see...in the middle of nowhere.

Slowly getting up, he looked at two armed guards who turned to face him as he moved. "Uh...hi?" he offered weakly not sure what to really say or do. Straightening up, he was sent sprawling painfully against a nearby rail as one of the guys hit him in the chest with the butt of their gun.

"Ced, lybdeja! (Sit, captive!)" the guy ordered.

Grunting in pain and rubbing his sore chest, Blake glared at him. "Hey! That hurt!" he shouted.

The second man pointed his gun in his face. "Hu sujehk, rayne? (No moving, hear?)" he ordered, his voice not quite as harsh as the previous guy's.

Ok, so Blake had no idea what he was saying, but he raised his hands in surrender and nodded, biting back his frown. "Whoa...ok." he said meekly, seeing as both men had their guns pointed to him.

They turned back around, and seemingly went back to watching over him. It was obvious he was some kind of prisoner on this ship, but who were these people and what was that language?

Suddenly, he heard a nearby door opening, and turned to see two men walk out. They looked about the same age, and he realized with a start, that one was the guy who punched him earlier. They approached and he got up slowly, hoping not to get hit again. The pain in his stomach, and the pain he now had in his chest were more than enough for a lifetime thank you very much.

The new man came forward, standing only a couple of feet from the captive Ranger. "Caynir res! (Search him!)" he ordered one of the gunmen.

Raising an eyebrow, Blake shook his head. "Right. Whatever." he muttered suspiciously.

The third man looked lost at his comment and folded his arms. "Tu oui hud cbayg? (Do you not speak?)" he seemed to ask curiously.

"I don't understand!" Blake yelled, finally getting royally pissed.

One of the gunmen whirled on him and pointed the gun in his face. "Ehcumahla! (Insolence!)" he shouted, pressing the barrel of the gun harder against the captive's chest.

"Fyed! (Wait!)" The familiar man called. Leaning close to Blake, he spoke softly and the Navy Ranger felt his eyes go wide as he realized why the person seemed so familiar. "He said you can stay if you make yourself useful."

Spinning to face the guy, his eyes widened in shock. _It can't be...no. That's not..._ he thought in shock, trying to process what was going on. "You...You understand me?" He was hit in the back of the head with something hard and glared at the deck. _Whatever!_ "Fine. I'll work!" he growled, curling his hands into fists and fighting not to turn and beat the guy who just hit him.

He was let go, and took another look around the deck of the ship. The third man held out a strange device, and demonstrated how to wear it.

"It'll help you breathe underwater." The familiar person said.

Giving a suspicious look at the person, he slowly nodded and took it. Shaking his head, he noticed one of those glowing spheres and went over to it, retoring himself and making the pain fade. Putting the strange device on, he turned and nodded to the one who spoke english.

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It was a long and tiring mission, and by the time he was done, Blake had a whole new respect for swimmers. They'd gone underwater, looking for some ruins that had apparently been found. It was...fun, he guessed. They'd had to fight and his Thunder Blade was returned to him for that, thankfully. He knew he could morph, but not only were Ranger identities were supposed to be secret, but in this new world, he wanted to keep a hidden advantage.

When they'd finally gotten back, he sighed and sagged on the deck, removing the breathing aparatus and taking a deep breath of air, coughing up a small amount of water. Getting up, he noticed them going inside and went to follow them, but the last guard to go in whirled around and pushing him back roughly. "Oui, uidceta! (You, outside!)"

"Hey! I helped out, didn't I?" he glared.

The man just shook his head and walked inside, the door slamming shut behind him, and locking Blake out in the cold wind.

"Asshole." he muttered as he went to a small sheltered area and curled up in a ball. There he lost himself in his thoughts.

_Cam would love this place. He'd probably race around with a huge smile on his face everywhere he went._ He sighed. _Sadly though, I'm alone here. Shane, Dustin, Hunter, Cam, and...Tori._ He felt tears playing in his eyes at the thought of the beautiful blonde haired blue eyed Water Ninja who'd managed to capture his heart the moment he laid eyes on her. _Please be ok guys. Tori, I'm so sorry I never got the chance to tell you...I love you._

He was pulled from his thoughts when his leg was kicked roughly. Looking up with a glare, he saw the familiar guy holding a tray of what looked like food.

"Here." he said softly, putting the tray down in front of Blake.

Realizing just how hungry he was, he dug right in, finding the food surprisingly good and gorging himself. Suddenly he began choking, having taken too big a mouthful. Seeing a canteen dangling in front of his face, he took it and immediately began drinking, sighing afterwards at how much better he felt.

"It's 'cause you eat too fast." the guy said in amusement.

Getting up, he looked at him. "So you understand me." he began. Seeing the guy nod, he narrowed his eyes. _Can it really be..._ "Who are you?" he demanded.

The guy stood up and walked over to the railing. "Dustin." he answered easily.

Blake felt his eyes widen and shook his head. Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the figure who turned back around to him.

"What's wrong?" 'Dustin' asked as he tilted his head.

Feeling his anger growing, he curled his hands into fists but kept them by his sides. "You can't be." he said simply.

"And why not?" he demanded, putting his hands on his hips. He seemed mixed between offended and amused.

"Because I know Dustin and you're not him." Blake snarled.

Now he seemed genuinely confused. "You know me? I don't know you." Shaking his head, he muttered. "Sin. You probably got too close to his toxins and it messed with your head." Looking up again, Blake noticed the green eyes with spiraled pupils and pointed victoriously.

"Ha! Dustin's eyes are brown, not green!" he cried. Then he frowned and shook his head. _And why exactly do I know Dustin's eye color?_ Rubbing his face, he sighed. _I've been spending too much time around that goofball!_

"All Al Bhed have green eyes." he explained. "You're not an Al Bhed hater, are you?" He seemed hesitant to ask.

"Al...what?" Blake asked incredulously. _Wait...that language at that temple place. It said Al Bhed._ Shaking his head again, he walked over to the railing and leaned against it. "I don't even know what an Al Bhed is."

The guy leaned next to him and quietly regarded him for a moment before speaking. "Where are you from?"

Frowning, Blake wondered if he was even still on earth. "Blue Bay Harbor."

"What's that?"

Turning in shock, he noticed Dustin seemed only confused. "Uhh, my home. On Earth."

Shaking his head, Dustin leaned against the railing again. "I've never heard of either of those places."

"The last thing I remember was being in Zanarkand with my friends. We got separated and I got attacked by a big red creature that shot a fireball out of it's mouth at me." Blake tried explaining. Looking at Dustin, he saw the wide green eyes that met him and frowned. "What?"

"You definitely got too close to Sin's toxin." the strange version of his friend said sadly. "It messes with your head. Zanarkand's been in ruin for over 1000 years now. Sin destroyed it 1000 years ago."

Frowning, Blake recalled what Cam had said. "I thought it was a war."

"There was a war. Zanarkand's Summoners and warriors against Bevell's Machina. Things got bad for Zanarkand, so Lord Yu Yevon created a new Aeon for the Summoners to call, called Sin. He wore it as his armor, and it corrupted him. Now he's bound to it, and every 10 years, Summoners train to fight and hopefully defeat Sin."

"That's...a lot to take in." he said hesitantly. Turning to the man, he frowned and shook his head. "I still don't believe you about the 'Dustin' thing. I know my friend, and you're nothing like him."

Sighing, he let his head fall. "Fine. Believe what you want." Raising his head again, he gave a very serious look to the oblivious stranger. "But you have to know. _Don't_ tell _anyone_ you were in Zanarkand or where you come from. Zanarkand's a holy place, and lots of people won't take kindly to you going there. Lots of people won't like hearing you say you're from someplace they've never heard before either. They'll think you're a threat."

"So where am I anyways?"

"Just 2 hours from the Bikanel coastline."

Blake frowned. "Bikanel?"

Looking irritated, the guy took a step back and headed for the door. "Bikanel is an isolated desert. Probably one of the most fiend infested places of Spira, but it's home." With that, he was gone.

Narrowing his eyes, he turned back to the water. "Wait, Spira?" _Well that makes sense. I'm no longer on earth._ he thought sadly. Shaking his head, he stalked back to the outdoor shelter and kicked the metal wall hard. "Damn!" Then the ship lurched suddenly, and he was thrown painfully against the railing. "Ow! What the hell?!" he yelled, trying to stand up.

Suddenly the door opened, and with a frightened cry, Al Bhed rushed out, Dustin with them. "Sin!" one of them called in terror.

That's when a giant creature burst out of the water, sending a wave that hit him, knocking him off the ship and into the frigid waters below.

_**This is not the place for you. You must go to the Summoner.**_ he heard in his head as darkness overcame him.

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Chapter three up. See? Dustin is still an idiot, just not always saying 'Dude' and stuff LOL.

Hope you like this.

R+R please.

Tenshi


	4. More Friends and A Surprise

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

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(Just off Besaid, Blake's POV)

When I came to, I was instantly aware of being underwater. Pulling my head up, I gasped for breath, my lungs stinging for holding my breath so long. But I didn't understand. Just how long was I out? Remembering the ship, I looked around, grateful it was day and I could see clearly. "Dustin!" I called, hoping to see the strange guy. Hell, right about now I would've been happy seeing any of those gun weilding maniacs!

Something hit me in the back of my head, and I let out a surprised and pained cry. "Son of a...huh?" I'd noticed a strange blue and white ball floating in front of me and picked it up curiously, treading water as I checked it out. It looked just like a volleyball, but seemed more durable. _A blitzball._ I guessed, remembering Cam describing one.

"Hey! You ok?" came a shout from behind me, and I spun around, seeing an all too familiar face and grinning. "Finally!" I stated happily. Shane Clark, one of my friends, stood on the beach. Taking in his outfit, I frowned. He was dressed in a pale yellow muscle shirt with yellow long shorts. Shaking it off, I waved. "Hey!" I called back, letting him know I saw and heard him.

Swimming to shore, I wondered if that was really my friend. He looked just like the Shane I knew, but a lot more carefree, and I knew that was unusual for him.

"Sorry 'bout that ya. We weren't watching what we were doing." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Holding out his hand, he grinned. "Name's Shane, Coach of the Besaid Aurochs ya, and you?"

Shaking my head, I dropped the ball on the ground and clasped my arm with his. "Man Shane, it's good to see you bro." I stated with a grin. "I thought I was the only one here."

He looked confused. "Do I know you?"

Frowning, I nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Blake."

"Sorry. I don't know a Blake ya." he said, shaking his head. "You ok?"

"This isn't funny man." I stated, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Then a thought hit me. "Are the others here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Others?"

I had a bad feeling and began to wonder. Was that guy on the ship telling the truth? Was he really Dustin? And why didn't Shane know me? Weren't these my friends? "Nevermind." I muttered shaking my head. They couldn't be my friends. They were the same but also...different. I found myself beginning to miss home even more and wishing I could go back.

"Where you from ya?"

I think, I wanted to be honest with him, but I knew I couldn't. I was still in Spira, obviously, and they wouldn't know anything about earth. Sadly, I decided to fall to plan B. "I...don't remember." I stated hesitantly, shaking my head and looking out over the water. "I think I got too...close to Sin's toxin or something. My head's real fuzzy."

He looked sad and understanding and did a strange move with his hands, bowing at the waist. "Sin's toxin got to you, but you're still alive. Praise be to Yevon." Turning to the other guys on the beach, he nodded. "Back to practice."

Turning to the water as he walked away, I frowned and wanted so badly to break down and cry. It was obvious now. It seemed I was going to run into different versions of my friends on this world, but they didn't know me. I wondered...why was I brought here? Then I got a thought. _Will Tori be here too?_ I realized just how painful it would be to see her, knowing she wouldn't know me.

"You look distracted brudda." Shane called.

I turned back to look at him a moment, not knowing what to say or do.

Shaking his head, he grinned. "Ah, no worries. I'll help you out any way I can ya. Maybe your head will clear soon and you can go home."

_I wish._ I thought sadly. I appreciated the fact that Shane was trying to cheer me up, but at that moment, all I could think about was what happened to me. I'd been taken from my world, ripped from my family and friends. Ripped from Tori. I realized that this all started when that red creature hit me. I thought that, maybe, if I could find it again, I could go home.

Until then, I planned to try to live in this world. Sure it would be hard not thinking about home, but maybe...just maybe, it would make it more bearable.

"Come on."

Turning around, I noticed Shane beckoning to me, and turned to leave. Before I could, a rather, ummm...thick man came running up.

"Before you go, take these. They'll help with the fiends, ya." he said, handing me a small amount of items and running away.

Looking into my hands, I noticed a few more of those coins, some more vials, a couple of golden feathers, and a small red ball that glowed slightly. I felt a presence behind me, and turned around to see Shane smiling slightly.

"Ahh. 40 gil, 2 potions, 2 hi-potions, 3 phoenix downs and a strength sphere. Good catch brudda." he said with a smirk.

_Gil? Potions, hi-potions, phoenix downs, and strength sphere? What the hell?_ To say I was clueless would be an understatement, but for now, I shrugged and put the items in the pouch on my waist. Then with my eyes widening, I quickly reached behind me and let out a sigh of relief, feeling my Thunder Blade still strapped to my back. They'd attached a strap right before the mission on the ship, so it would be easier to carry and wield.

"Let's go ya." Shane spoke up, motioning for me to follow him. He led me down a long pathway, that crossed a couple of waterfalls. Stopping for a moment, I took in the beauty of the area and wished I could bring Tori here. _She'd love it._ I thought sadly.

We kept going up, fighting the occassional fiend, and made it to the top of a hill, breathing hard as I held a hand over my side which had a nasty gash on it.

"You should use a potion ya." Shane suggested with a raised eyebrow.

_A potion?_ Pulling one out of the pouch, I held it in my hand until Shane grabbed it and slammed it to the ground. I was about to protest when a cloud of light green smoke poured up and as I took a breath, my pains disappeared and I felt restored. _Oh. So that's how they work._ I thought blankly. I had to fight the urge to grin. _I can't wait to get home and tell Cam all the info I've come across! Man would he be jealous!_

Looking to Shane, I nodded. "Thanks." We continued our way to the village, and just outside, he stopped me. "You know how to do the prayor?"

Frowning, I shook my head. "No. Sorry."

Sighing, he looked ready to strangle me. "Follow what I do." he instructed. Doing that move with his hands again, I watched closely and followed after him, doing the same move, only a lot more akwardly. "Eh, that'll do for now." he said in a bored tone.

It was there, looking at the village, I began to realize just how different this place was from my home.

"Come on." Leading me to a hut, we went inside. "This is my home."

We had something to eat, and he filled me in on a lot. I knew there was still even more to learn, but didn't question it. He told me a lot about Summoners, Spira, and Yevon. I could tell he was suspicious, but he didn't seem to feel threatened by me, so I eventually let up on the questions, laying down for a rest.

Hearing a voice come into the hut, I didn't even open my eyes.

"You should at least go see how they are doing."

I heard Shane's slightly concerned voice. "We can't interfere. It's a rule."

"But, it's been nearly..."

At that, I finally fell asleep, remembering how my brother and I had minor plans of going to visit our parents. We'd had an arguement, and gone separate ways for a while. It had been almost a day before we found each other and apologized.

Waking up, I noticed that Shane was gone, and exited the hut. Looking around, I noticed the unusual version of my friend heading into, what I guessed was, the temple. Following him, I saw a bunch of statues all around, with people doing that hand sign as they bowed in front of them. I paused a moment to watch as a priest walked over to Shane and they began talking. I was seriously ready to start calling them Shane 2 and Dustin 2, just to make it easier.

Going up to him, I noticed him frowning and grew concerned. "What's wrong?"

"The Summoner has yet to return from the trial." he informed me gravely.

"Huh?" Ok, so I knew a bit about Summoners, but trials? What was that all about?

"Well, apprentice Summoner really."

"Oh?" _That's not helping out here Shane. Wanna try again?_ I thought with a raised eyebrow.

He seemed to get the hint that I didn't understand, and began explaining, though a lot of what he explained would likely...need explanation.

"There's a room in there called the Cloister of Trials. Beyond is where the apprentice Summoner prays. If the prayor is heard, the apprentice becomes a full-fledged Summoner, remember?"

How could I remember? I never knew it to begin with. "Uh yeah. I knew that." I stuttered, looking at the door quickly to avoid prying eyes. "So...someone's in there, somewhere, and they haven't come back out. Right, got it." _I think._

"A day's already gone by."

I looked at him in confusion and noted his concern. He knew more about this world than me. If he was concerned, then I was really worried. "Is it particularly dangerous in there?"

He nodded slightly. "Sometimes, yes."

Raising an eyebrow, I turned to him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Dude! Then why don't you go in and help?" _Dumbass! Even _I_ know that!_

He shook his head. "There's already a Guardian in there. Besides, it's forbidden."

_Excuses, excuses._ "And if the Summoner dies?" I started up the stairs.

A priest ran over and yelled at me. "The precepts must be obeyed!"

"Like I care!" I yelled, rushing through the door and down into this cloister of trials. I honestly didn't think anything of it, but part of me really felt...drawn to go in. It was too powerful for me to ignore, but also, for the most part, too subtle for me to notice. It also crossed my mind what was said to me before. I had to go to the Summoner. I had to protect the Summoner.

It seemed, that was what I was doing.

Going through the halls and seeing doors and pedestals, and strange spheres, I honestly thought I was going to get lost, but somehow, I knew what to do. I didn't realize it right away, but I was being guided. Someone or something was helping me get to the Summoner.

I'd finally gotten a sphere and put it in the pedestal in the wall. It glowed brightly and I jumped back in surprise, grabbing my Thunder Blade, just in case. When the wall disappeared and the sphere was on a moveable pedestal, I noticed a similar shape on the foor in the center of the newly revealed room and realized I had to push it there. Knowing what I had to do was a lot easier than actually doing it. "Damn this thing's heavy!" I muttered as I finally got it into the right place. It sank to the floor and I watched, hoping for a sign of what to do next.

"Hey!" I spun around to see Shane looking at me in confusion. "What's gotten into you?"

I felt kind of guilty. I knew nothing about this world and was acting on instinct. What if I only ended up making things worse?

"Hey." It was said softer this time, and I noticed him come up to me. "It's alright." He pulled me to his side, and I jumped a bit as a glowing pattern appeared on the ground and it suddenly began moving.

It hit me that this was like an elevator of some kind.

"Only Summoners, apprentice Summoners, and their Guardians are allowed in here." Shane told me, scowling slightly. "It's tradition. Very important." he stressed, looking into my eyes.

Raising an eyebrow. I turned to regard him. "Oh? What about you then?"

He laughed. "Me? I'm a Guardian."

Feeling sheepish, I lowered my eyes. Ok, so I hadn't thought about that. Then something hit me and I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes. _Guardian? Just like on earth._ Ok, so maybe it was different, but in our own ways, Power Rangers were the Guardians of earth.

"Summoners go on a pilgrimage to pray at every temple in Spira. Guardians protect them. The Guardian in there, he's got a short fuse."

I couldn't hold back my laugh. "Sounds like my brother. He's usually pretty cool, but when he loses his temper..." I trailed off, realizing just how painful it was to remember him, knowing I couldn't see him.

"You got a brother?" Shane asked curiously.

I nodded. "Older, adopted brother."

He nodded in understanding. "I'd take you out of here, but now that we've come this far. Might as well go all the way brudda."

Raising an eyebrow, I turned my head away and struggled not to laugh. I doubted he realized just how wrong that sounded.

The elevator finally hit the ground and we stepped off. Following Shane's lead, we stepped into a big room, and my eyes filled with tears at who I saw standing at the bottom of a large staircase. I hadn't even thought I'd see him there, and now that I did, I wasn't sure what to say or do.

Dressed in a crimson, long sleeved shirt, and black leather pants, my brother stood at the bottom of the steps, glaring coldly at us. His eyes flickered to me, but they only grew colder, and I realized...this wasn't my brother. This wasn't the Hunter Bradley I grew up with.

I felt my heart break in the realization that I was now positive I'd run into all my friends here. I'd already met Shane, now I'm sure that Al Bhed was Dustin, Hunter was standing right in front of me, and that left three more.

"_What_ are you doing here?" Hunter demanded coldly, moving over to stand in front of Shane. "Didn't think I'd be able to handle it?"

_Nope. That's not Hunter._ I thought sadly, desperately wishing I could go home. I kept begging who or whatever sent me here to send me back. I didn't want this. Shaking my head, I forced myself to focus. "Is the Summoner alright?"

Hunter turned and glared at me, but he also looked taken aback for the way I spoke up. "Who...are you?" he almost seemed hesitant to ask.

Before I could answer, the door at the top of the stairs opened and I stopped breathing. My heart constricted painfully, and for a brief moment, I wondered if I was going to have a heart attack.

As beautiful as ever. Shoulder length blonde hair, and eyes I couldn't see because her face was turned down. Wearing a white wrap for a top, with detached, long sleeves that swept the ground, and a long blue, flowing skirt with a slit up one side and knee high black boots under it, Tori Hanson stood. She staggered a bit as she slowly made her way down the stairs, and once she reached the bottom, she ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her sweaty face. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes to reveal stunning sky blue gems, and smiled.

"I have done it." she said softly, in a tone I've never heard her speak. "I have...become a Summoner."

Not being able to take any more, I felt my eyes roll into the back of my head and heard Shane's worried voice, and a terrified, feminine scream as I collapsed. The last thing I remembered, was a look of minor concern etched into Hunter's colder-than-ice face.

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Yeah...the broody blonde is even more broody in my story. :) Tori's a Summoner...hmmm...wonder what other surprise await? You think it'll only be the Rangers in this fic? You'll see... ;)

So, I hope you like it. R+R please!

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	5. Learning About Fiends and Starting Out

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

**Note** : A cookie to whoever knows which Ranger is what character :) Also a longer chapter this time...

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(The Next Day)

When I next woke up, I just laid under the covers and looked around, wondering where I was and what happened. Seeing Shane sitting next to a table and eating something, his back to me, I remembered and frowned, feeling my heart break all over again.

_So they're all here. Dustin, Shane, Hunter, Tori...probably Cam too. The thing is, they're not my friends. Not the people I know._

Looking to the entrance, I noticed it was light out and sat up slightly. The rustling of the sheets that covered me must've caught Shane's attention, because he turned around and faced me.

"Ahh. You're awake ya?" he questioned with that weird accent.

I really wanted to hit him on the head, hoping that by doing so, I could bring around my friend. Instead, I settled for nodding and rubbing the back of my head a bit. Honestly, my mind was stuck playing the scene with Tori and Hunter over and over again. They were exactly like, and at the same time, so different from the people I knew, and it hurt me to even see them, let alone talk to them.

It hurt with Shane too, and I actually _wouldn't_ let myself believe Dustin before, but not as much as with my bro and the woman I loved.

"You ok? You're zonin' out brudda."

Turning my head to Shane I nodded again and slowly got up. "How long was I out?"

He shrugged and motioned for me to join him as he ate. "Since yesterday evening. You missed Tori's first Summoning. Made her sad ya."

Was it just me, or did he sound a little...scolding?

"Sad? Why? She doesn't even know me." I felt my eyebrow raise, but was at the moment too shocked by what he said to care that I might've seemed rude.

He snorted and laughed a bit before turning serious. "When you collapsed, she tried a cure spell on you to see if it would help. When it didn't we realized you were just exhaused ya. We brought you back here but she told me she hoped you'd be up for the Summoning. She was real excited about it brudda."

Somehow, the thought of Tori being able to Summon weird monsters to help us in battle...I figured she'd be excited. Well, the Tori I knew would be. "Oh." I nodded in understanding. Realizing what he said, I felt my eyes narrow in confusion. _Cure spell? What's that?_

Giving me what looked like an assessing look, he frowned slightly. "I saw you looking at her yesterday. She's cute ya?"

Raising an eyebrow, I wondered if Shane had a thing for her here and felt jealous, but pushed it down, remembering that this wasn't my world, and these...weren't my friends. "Yeah." I admitted softly, remembering how beautiful she was at the top of the steps. Even exhausted, she was still stunning to me.

Shaking his head, he sighed. "Don't get no ideas." he warned.

Folding my arms across my chest, I held back the urge to snort. _No promises there bro._ I thought seriously. "You got a thing for her?" I asked, forcing a smirk to my face. _Please say no._ My world or not, I didn't think I'd be able to be around them if he did.

"Me? Nah!" he laughed again. Getting up, he motioned for me to follow him. "We gotta get going ya. They're probably waiting for us by now."

"Where're we going?" I asked, feeling my eyebrows furrow.

"Kilika." he answered simply as we walked out of the hut. "It's a small island town. There's a temple there Tori has to pray at. Then we go to Luca, where we look for anyone who might know you."

_Anyone who might know me?_ "No one will know me Shane." I told him evenly.

He raised an eyebrow and turned to me as we stood in the center of the large path that crossed through town. "You sound so sure. Why's that brudda? Luca's a big city. Lots of people go there for the blitz tournaments. We Besaid Aurochs are playin' there in two days."

_Still..._ "I just know that no one will know me." I insisted, turning away.

Hunter came walking up to us then, still in the same outfit as before, and still with a cold look in his eyes. "Where's Tori?" he asked emotionlessly.

I had to wonder what happened to him here to cause such pain. My brother on earth could be cold at times, because of our parents' murder, but for this version to be _so_ cold, something really horrible must've happened.

Shane turned to us and shrugged. "She'll be here."

That's when we heard a loud clatter, and turned to see Tori uprighting a large suitcase that had fallen over. She must've known we were watching her, because she looked up, smiled and waved.

Hunter sighed and I turned to see his look soften, making me feel a little jealous. I knew Shane said he didn't have a thing for her, but did this version of my bro? "You really don't _need_ all that luggage!" he called out warmly, a small chuckle hidden in his voice.

Looking to the suitcase, I caught her sheepish look. "They're really not my things. They are gifts for the temples." she informed them, not having moved from the bag.

"This isn't a vacation, Tori." Hunter insisted, folding his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow.

She cast the bag an uncertain look before nodding. "Right." Leaving it on the steps of the temple, she ran over to us and smiled when her eyes locked on mine. "Hi. I'm Tori." she said as she bowed a bit.

I wanted to hold her tight and never let her go. Run away from these imposters and find a way home. "I'm Blake." I said instead, nodding my head and giving her a warm smile, surprised I didn't have to force it.

Hunter and Shane walked off ahead, with us behind them, and she turned to me. "So we're going on the same boat?"

Frowning slightly, I shrugged. "I don't know. I think so." I honestly didn't know what was going on at all, but as I promised myself on the beach yesterday, I was going to try to live here until I found a way back.

"Great!" she chirped excitedly and I turned to see a sweet smile and innocent look on her face. "We can talk more then. You can tell me about your home."

I shook my head, feeling sad. "You wouldn't know it."

She grinned at me suddenly. "You might be surprised." With that, she ran off and joined the others, leaving me alone behind them, lost in my thoughts.

_Does she know? But that doesn't make any sense. _How_ could she possibly know? _Something hit me and I watched as she talked happily with her Guardians. _Is that..._my_ Tori? _Shaking my head, I exited the town and followed them along the path, heading I guessed, back to the beach. _But I don't think she is._ Squaring my shoulders, I realized I could ask her later and find out for sure.

As we climbed the hill, I saw a weird looking dog come rushing out and Shane called me forward. I ran up to him and Hunter fell back with Tori. "This is a Dingo ya. Why don't you try that weapon of yours?"

Giving him an incredulous look, I shrugged and armed myself with my Blade. Readying it, I ran forward and in one hit, managed to take out the thing.

"Not too shabby. Might make a good Guardian someday." Shane congradulated me. Then we were attacked by a weird pelican-looking, flying monster and he grinned. "A flyer. My type of customer!" he cheered. Pulling out a blitzball, I held back the urge to laugh. I couldn't help but wonder what good a _ball_ would do against a fiend, but my jaw soon dropped when he whipped it forward with a strength and speed that shocked me, and took the thing down.

Together, the monsters left behind some gil and potions.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I'd memorized the names of the items and stuff to make it easier to get around.

We continued up the hill a ways when we were attacked again, this time, by what looked like a jelly monster. I couldn't help the snicker that escaped my mouth at looking at the thing. It looked like someone's jello that had sat around until it grew legs and came to life, maybe looking for revenge or something.

Shane looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't laugh ya. Those things are nasty!" he warned. Shaking his head, he sighed. "That...looks like trouble." he stated hesitantly.

Grabbing my Blade, I grinned. "Watch this!" I laughed. Running forward, I sliced at the monster, only to have it pull itself together again and push me back. "What the...?"

"Told you." he pointed out, shaking his head and frowning. "Only magic can beat that thing. If you can't beat 'em down, you gotta use magic of an element they don't like."

"Magic? Element?" I felt my confusion growing and turned to see him grinning.

"Let's have our black mage show you what I mean. Hunt, you're up!"

My jaw dropped again. My bro? A black mage? _Hunt? Damn! If anyone tried calling my Hunter that, they'd be on the ground cringing in pain in seconds!_

Hunter ran up on my other side and shook his head with a glare. "Clueless, aren't you? Good thing I'm here." He crossed his arms and glared at the monster, and I could've sworn I felt magic radiating off him. "Spells of ice work well against fire fiends...And ice fiends are weak against fire."

"Ok. I get fire and ice, but what about lightning and water?" I questioned, hoping he'd indulge me and explain.

Shooting a quick glare at me, he nodded. "Lightning and water are opposed..."

I bit my lip to keep from grinning. _Than you obviously don't know me and Tori._ I thought to myself as I listened to him continue on.

"Just like fire and ice. This one here, is a water fiend, which means..."

"I got this one." I said before I could stop myself. When I saw Hunter and Shane staring at me in shock, I stuttered and looked at the monster. Putting my Blade away, I quickly positioned myself and focused on my powers, drawing lightning to me so I could use it. With a quick movement of my hand, a stream of navy lightning shot out and hit the monster, quickly making it fade away.

Tori ran over. "That was amazing!" she cried breathlessly, but there was a strange look in her eyes that seemed to warn me not to do it again.

I once again found myself wondering if...this was _my_ Tori.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Hunter questioned in shock. he frowned and crossed his arms, staring at me suspiciously. "I've known Thunder magic all my life and I've never seen anything like that."

Thinking quickly, I shrugged. "I umm...don't remember." Suddenly remembering my excuse on the beach, I shook my head and masked my face in confusion. "I don't remember much of anything really."

Shane nodded. "That's right. He got too close to Sin's toxin." he informed the black mage.

He didn't look convinced, but nodded anyways and the group continued up the hill. Making to to the top, I wanted as Shane prayed and Hunter bowed. Tori cast me a knowing look and smile before she knelt down as well and prayed. I wasn't sure what to do, but with a shrug, I decided to join them. Doing the hand gesture, I bowed at the waist and closed my eyes.

_Please let this journey be a safe one, and place let me get home soon._

"Ok. That's enough."

Opening my eyes and straightening up, I looked at Shane who also stood up and walked over to Hunter. Tori took a moment to look over the small village below before we left and continued on our journey. We were crossing the thin path across the falls when a large shadow flew over us and I looked up, gasping in shock at the immense bird that hovered over us.

Turning to Shane, I offered him a weak smirk. "A flyer. Your kind of customer, right?"

He shuddered and nodded hesitantly. "Right, right, but uhhh...how 'bout we let our Summoner show us what she's made of?" He ran behind Tori and Hunter, and I opened my mouth to complain when Tori sent me a glare that told me not to.

Nodding my head, I ran behind them and she stepped forward. As she turned back, she winked at me discreetly before facing the fiend and holding a staff out in front of her. Lunging backwards, she held the staff behind her with her other hand in front of her and a glowing circle formed under her.

A moment later, lights shot up from the circle and a load roar was heard.

I looked up into the sky and felt my eyes widen as I saw a brightly colored bird fiend come rushing down and land in front of her, facing her. For a moment, I forgot to breathe, being terrified when she walked over to it and began petting it. But instead of attacking her like I thought it would, it nodded and jumped into the air, turning to face the other monster.

Withing a few attacks of it's talons and shooting a ray out of it's mouth once, in what Tori called 'Sonic Ray', the other monster was defeated and she dismissed the creature, that Shane told me, was called Valefor.

Letting out a breath, I gaped at the woman who turned back to us, an innocent smile on her face, but a victorious look in her eyes. I realized my jaw was still open and closed my mouth, shaking my head and staring in awe at the woman in front of me. _Damn!_ was all I could think.

We continued on to the boat, learning more about the fiends and battling them, and Tori said her goodbyes to the people gathered there to see her off. As I waited on board the ship, I noticed a few crying children and the sad looks on everyone's faces and couldn't help but wonder why they were so sad. Sure we were leaving but everyone would come back some day.

I passed it off as people who grew fond of her, going to probably miss her while she was gone.

As she finally boarded the boat, she walked over to the head of it, immediately becoming surrounded by people, and Hunter stayed by her side for most of it, keeping them from getting too close. We started off, and I had to once again get used to the rocking of the boat as I looked around.

Imagine my surprise to find that the engine was powered by giant yellow chicken-like birds that the woman called 'Chocobos'. I was getting more and more weirded out by each passing day, and wished even more strongly that I could go home. I was even beginning to miss Lothor and his goons. Scarey, huh?

Without even thinking about it, I wandered up to the front of the boat, noticing that Tori was now alone, and walked slowly over to her, wondering what I was going to say. I didn't even expect her to be the first one to speak.

"So I'm not the only one." she said softly. Sighing, she looked out over the sea. "Thank God. I was afraid I was alone here."

I felt my eyebrows narrowing and wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. "Umm...really? Not the only one?"

I didn't expect her to whirl around with fear and uncertainty in her eyes. "Please tell me you're the Blake I know." she pleaded.

"I...don't know." Scratching my head, I shrugged helplessly. "What Blake do you know?"

She just looked at me for a long time before getting a look on her face, like she was thinking. "Where were you? You don't call, no letter."

"You missed me, didn't you?" I smiled, remembering that day and our run in.

"No." she smiled back and leaned on the rope across the front of the boat.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I nodded and my smile turned to a smirk. "You did. I can tell."

"I don't like you anymore and I'm not speaking to you!" she stated, crossing her own arms and looking away, but I caught the smile.

"Tor." I breathed, finally feeling like something was going my way.

She turned back to me, her face suddenly serious. "I was attacked by something that called itself Anima. It told me I had to come take the Summoner's place, and gave me all kinds of knowledge." she informed me.

Raising an eyebrow, I nodded. "And changed your hair."

Blushing, she ran her hand through her hair and shook her head. "No. This is Summoner Tori's body. It's just my mind and spirit in it."

"Then why was I sent here not knowing anything? And why am I in my own body?" I questioned. "Some monster spit a fireball at me and when I next woke up, I was here."

"I was told one of my friends was sent with me and wouldn't know what was going on, but I wasn't told who." she murmured. "The monster, Sin, I'm sure you heard of it."

I nodded. "An Aeon created over 1000 years ago by some dude named Yu Yevon, to wear as his armor. It corrupted him and now attacks all the time. People train to find a way to temporarily defeat it." I muttered, remembering Dustin's explanation.

"When I met Hunter and Shane here, I was shocked to see how different they were. I knew right away they weren't who Valefor was talking about, and adopted the act he told me to, to keep from making people suspicious." She faced the sea and nodded as the breeze blew her hair around her face. "When I saw you collapse and your Thunder Blade on your back, I had a feeling. When I saw you outside the temple today and you introduced yourself, I knew it was you. I kept up my act so no one would get suspicious, but..." She turned to face me and smiled a relieved smile. "_Boy_ am I glad to see you!"

Nodding, I smiled back. "I missed you too." Looking down, I sighed. "I was afraid I was the only one here."

"Sin."

I looked up to see her looking thoughtful. "Did you ever question why it's only _temporarily_ defeated?"

Thinking about it, I realized I hadn't. "No. When Dustin told me, I was too wrapped up trying to figure out where I was to think about it."

She spun to me. "Dustin?"

I shook my head. "Like Hunter and Shane, this world's Dustin. An AlBhed."

Shaking her head, she sighed. "Right. Anyways, Sin's only beaten for 10 years, giving people that time to relax. A period the people of Spira call the 'Calm'. Summoners journey to get the final Aeon to fight him, but...Blake..." She turned to look at me and I saw tears in her eyes. "There's only one way to beat him for good and we have to find it to get sent back home."

Frowning, I thought about what she said. "If Summoners train to beat him, why don't they fight him when he comes back agan, so new people don't have to do it every time?"

"They can't." she said sadly, and I looked at her and noticed a tear falling from her eyes. "Blake, don't you see?" She turned to me. "They-"

Suddenly, the ship lurched sharply to the left and she slipped across the deck, and into my arms, whatever she was going to say, lost in a startled yelp as I caught her. "Hang on Tor!" I cried. The ship lurched to the right, and I couldn't keep my hold on her. She slipped away, and I held onto her hand for dear life, but couldn't keep it up. She kept slipping. I was gripping her hand, then her fingers, then...nothing.

She screamed as she slid across the deck, but grabbed hold of a harpoon gun. Hunter ran up and grabbed her tight, and she transferred her hold to him as the ship settled down, only to have a huge whale-like creature erupt from the water just in front of us.

"SIN!" a bunch of people began screaming, and most of them ran below the deck.

Two men ran up, going straight to the harpoon guns and aiming them.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shane yelled as he approached, slipping and sliding across the now soaked deck. "Stick a harpoon in it and we'll all get dragged under!"

One of the men looked back and right at Tori who was watching with a strange knowing sadness. "Sin is going for Kilika! We gotta distract it!"

The other man nodded and kept aiming. "Our families live there! Forgive us Lady Summoner!"

Shane shook his head. "Wait! Oh boy..."

Tori nodded sadly from Hunter's arms and they aimed, firing two harpoons, but only one hit it. Sin jerked and began dragging the boat through the waves, knocking most people off their feet, but Our Summoner's group armed themselves and got ready.

Lights flashed on the fin and three bug-like monsters flew down. Our group got ready and began fighting them, with Hunter, Shane and me doing the main fighting, and Tori in backup for healing us.

We soon knocked the bugs down, but as soon as three were killed, three more would appear, and soon our group began to tire.

"How many of these things are there?!" I yelled as I swung at another one.

Shane pointed to the fin. "That! We gotta take out the fin!"

Shaking my head, I sighed. "That's great and all, but how? At least two of us have to stay and fight these things!"

Hunter nodded and turned to Tori. "Tori! Summon Valefor to fight the fin while we take care of these things!" he called, before turning back and blasting another one of the monsters with a lightning blast.

Tori nodded and Summoned her Aeon, immediately making it go for the fin as she kept up her healing on the side.

I took a nasty hit and was knocked down. "Damn! What the hell are these things!"

"Sinscales!" Shane called as he threw his blitzball at a nearby scale, taking it down, only to have three more appear. "Don't these guys ever give up?" he yelled in irritation.

"Evidently not!" Hunter shouted back as he dodged an attack. Pulling out a strange vial of white liquid, he drank it, much to my disgust, and was soon surrounded in a wall of white light, which faded to reveal him looking just like he did before.

Tori ran over and healed a gash on my side, and giggled slightly, looking into my eyes for a moment. "Ether. It heals magic here." she informed me before running over to the blonde black mage and healing him.

Shaking my head I raised an eyebrow and swung at another monster.

To my surprise, the ship jerked again and we all fell over when it suddenly settled down. Looking at where the fin was, nothing but calm waters lay, and even the scales were gone. I wasn't sure if I should be worried or happy.

"The harpoon rope snapped." Shane stated in shock as he slowly got up. Shaking his head, he walked over to Tori who was healing an injured crewman, and I took the time to let out a sigh.

I still wasn't sure how I should feel about that.

Getting up, I looked out to the horizon, and felt a hand on my shoulder, turning to see Tori looking at me in worry.

"Um, where were we?" I questioned lightly, offering a weak smile.

"I will defeat Sin. I _must_ defeat Sin!" she vowed quietly. Looking at me, she shook her head. "I'll have to dance."

Raising an eyebrow, I stayed quiet, holding back a comment on my lips.

Tori must've seen the look in my eyes, because she gave me a look that told me not to joke around or take things lightly. "I meant that I have to Send the dead. It's a sad dance." She turned away and took a few steps to the stairs that led down to the lower rooms, before calling softly over her shoulder. "I'm glad you're alright Blake."

Watching her walk away, I frowned. _Sad dance? What kind of place is this?_ "Me too Tor. I'm glad you're alright." I muttered quietly.

I kept thinking that any time, we'd find a way home, but now? I was beginning to wonder. I realized, I was probably fooling myself.

I think it was there, looking out over the calm sea, under the burning sun, I began to give up hope. I was in a strange new world now, I wasn't going home. This was my new reality, and I think...I was stuck in it for good.

But...I didn't know if I could accept that. My friends needed me. They needed Tori and me. My bro..._he_ needed me.

I couldn't give up on that, as much as I felt I should.

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Well, would you look at that. Blake's not the only one thrown into another world :P So Tori has an act up, explaining her OOCness. What kind of horrors will they be thrown into next?

Hope you liked it.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	6. Kilika's Dance and a Sinspawn

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

**Note** : Long chapter coming up. I hope you like this.

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(Kilika, Normal POV)

As the ship docked in Kilika, it was immediatley evident that something horrible happened. A big part of Blake already knew what hppened as he looked around.

Wooden huts lay ruined and torn apart. A few blitzballs floated in the water or laid by the shore, trees had been knocked over and people were crying. As they got off the boat, Tori's saddened look turned determined and she made her way to the front of them, bowing quickly at the few people who came running up.

"Geetings! I am the Summoner Tori. I have come from the temple in Besaid." she bowed again.

A older woman stepped forward. "M'lady Summoner!" she cried. She seemed to be horrified and happy at the same time.

Looking around a moment, Tori nodded. "If there is no other Summoner here, please allow me to perform the Sending."

A man walked forward and bowed deeply in respect. "Thanks be to ye!" he stated in what was clearly a relieved voice.

Blake was royally confused. A Sending? That's what Tori had mentioned before. He still didn't get it, but held back his comments as he watched the conversation.

"Our loved ones..." the first woman muttered quietly. "...We feared they would become fiends."

_Fiends? How do humans become fiends?_ He felt himself frown as he watched Tori take another step forward.

"Please, take me to them." she said softly.

The villagers bowed and led her off, and Blake was torn between going with them, and staying with Hunter and Shane. Then Hunter went off after him, and he was still left confused.

"I had an older brother ya."

He turned his head to see Shane step up beside him, looking sad. Thinking for a moment, he remembered him mentioning his brother on earth. Still, if Tori was going to act like a good Summoner, he would keep up his act of getting too close to Sin's toxin. "Yeah?"

Nodding slowly, Shane sighed. "He joined the crusaders to fight Sin, but one day on their journey, there was a big attack and my brother got killed. His name was Porter ya."

"I'm sorry." Blake muttered.

He shook his head and his sad look turned into a strong and determined one. "We'll go see what we can do to help in town." With that, he motioned for the Aurochs to follow him and left the dock, leaving Blake behind to wonder what he should do next.

Shrugging, he wandered over to where the Aurochs were working on a path and stopped suddenly when Letty called to him. "Careful Blake. It's not safe this way." he warned and Blake nodded before turning and walking away.

Without even realizing it, he'd wandered to where a large group of people had collected and watched as Tori spoke to an old man before she turned to the water, her staff in one hand. He noticed the floating caskets and felt his eyes narrow as Tori took a step out onto the water, then they widened as she walked out without sinking.

_I don't know if I should be shocked that she can do that, but the Tori from earth was a Water Ninja, making it so she could walk out on top of the water._

He noticed no one else seemed the faintest bit surprised and shrugged minutely. If they weren't surprised, then this must've been normal, Orrrr...as normal as this place got anyways.

Spotting Hunter standing alone, he gathered his courage and walked over to him, hoping he'd be willing to explain. "What's a Sending?"

Raising an eyebrow, the broody blonde mage turned to him and sighed in exasperation. "You truly _are_ clueless. Are you sure it's just your memory that's the problem?"

Blake looked down, hurt by Hunter's words. Part of him remembered that this wasn't his brother, but it still hurt to hear him say that.

"The dead need guidance."

Looking up, he noticed Hunter staring out over the water, almost sadly. Turning, he noticed that Tori was dancing and got caught between watching her and listening to the explanation.

"Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate."

In other words, there would be a lot of ghosts? He still didn't get it. He watched as she danced and fell into a trance. She was _so_ beautiful. The way she moved was perfectly symetrical and graceful, but at the same time, a feeling of horrible sadness welled up in his heart and he took a shakey breath as balls of light began rising from the floating caskets. He recognized them as pyreflies and remembered what Cam had said about them being souls of the dead.

"They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. "

Breaking his gaze from the dancing Summoner, he spun to face Hunter as his eyes widened. A lot of what he said made sense, and without even knowing it, he'd been answering a lot of Blake's unspoken questions. Turning back to the water, he noticed an explosion of light beneith Tori and a pillar of water lifted her into the air as she continued to dance.

"You see, they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger, even hate. Should those souls remain in Spira, they would become fiends, praying on the living."

_That explains where the fiends come from. _That also explained the pyreflies that were made up of human souls, rising from the fallen bodies of defeated fiends.

"Sad, isn't it?"

Turning away from Tori hesitantly, he looked at Hunter and noticed a sad look in his eyes. There was a flash of blue on his other side and he turned to see the flames of lit torches turning blue. He wasn't sure what to make of that. A coincedance? Blue Ranger dancing and going on a pilgrimage as a Summoner. Navy Ranger being the only one who knows who she really is. Maybe it was some sort of sign. Who knew?

Turning back to Hunter, he noticed him looking back at the water and realized he'd looked to the flames as well. The black mage kept explaining as thought nothing happened and Blake turned his attention to Tori, who was finishing her dance as the last of the pyreflies swirled around her and headed into the sky to fade away.

"The Sending takes them to the Farplane, where they may rest in peace."

Somehow, he knew this was the end of the explanation and watched as Tori was lowered back to the surface of the water before she turned, tears glistening on her face, and slowly walked back to the land.

_Farplane? Is that like heaven to us?_

Shaking his head, he turned to Hunter again. "And Summoners do this?"

Hunter nodded slowly as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against a railing along the back of the pathway.

"It must be tough to be a Summoner." he muttered as Tori made her way onto the dock and people crowded around her.

Sighing again, Hunter watched her. "Tori chose her own path. She knew from the beginning what it meant. All we can do, is protect her along the way. Until the end."

His words rang with a solemn note Blake noted. It was something he didn't like the sounds of, and he began to worry for Tori. "The end?" He unconsciously raised his voice as he questioned the black mage beside him. "What the end?" _He can't mean...no! I won't let that happen!_

Everyone, including Tori, turned to look at them and Hunter let out an irritated groan. Glancing at Blake in dismay, he leaned forward. "Until she defeats Sin." he said through gritted teeth as he walked over to her.

_Until she defeats Sin._

Those words haunted him. There was a sadness in them, a finality that he really didn't like the sounds of. There was more to it than that, but something told him he wasn't going to get those answers tonight.

Walking over to Tori, Hunter placed his arms around her shoulders and gave her a brotherly hug as she cried.

"I hope...I hope I did ok." she whispered as she leaned into his touch. Eyeing Blake, she vowed to tell him everything he needed to know as soon as she could. He needed to know that she might-

"You did very well!" Hunter spoke softly, effectively breaking her train of thought and pulling away, brushing her tears off her face. "They've reached the Farplane by now, but...no tears next time, hmmm?"

Standing back on the path, Blake hoped there'd never _be_ a next time. No more people being killed by Sin. No more Sendings for Tori. Everyone just stood there, watching her. It was strange, and somehow...horrifying. he never wanted to see it again! _I'll get you home Tor. No matter what, I promise I'll keep you safe and get you home!_ he vowed silently.

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The next morning, when he woke up, he exited the inn to find Jassu waiting for him.

"You up? Capt'n Shane's been looking for ya." he said, before pointing the the direction of the forest and walking away.

Raising his eyebrows, he shrugged and made his way into the forest, seeing Shane, Hunter and Tori there waiting for him.

Shane grinned and walked over, clapping him on the shoulder and pulling him along to the rest of the group. "Today we go to the temple ya. We pray for victory at the blitzball game while Tori gets the next Aeon."

Frowning, he turned to him, pulling his arm free. "Shane."

"Hmm?" he responded, looking confused.

"You sure that's a good idea? After everything that happened yesterday, you sure it's ok to pray for a blitzball game?"

Sighing, his shoulders sagged and he shook his head. "No better time brudda." he said seriously. "They players fight with all their strength; the fans cheer for their favorite team. They forget pain, suffering...Only the game matters!"

Shrugging, Blake shook my head. _This world's Shane's obssessed with blitzball, and my world's Shane is obssessed with skateboarding._ "Whatever man."

Hunter took a step forward. "Tori's saying she wants you with us." he told Blake.

"I want to ask you to be my Guardian." she added, looking at him pleadingly.

"Tori! What?" Shane cried in shock. He shook his head and crossed his arms. "He's a newby against fiends ya. What're you thinking?"

Blake felt low at that, but knew it was true. In his world, he was an accomplished Ranger, a great fighter, but here...He knew nothing about this world and it's fiends. As much as he wanted to hit Shane right then, he had to sadly admit what he said was true.

"Not a Guardian then." Tori corrected, looking stubborn and a little hurt. "I just...I want him nearby."

Hunter shook his head. "We should get going." With that, he turned and took several spteps away, heading deeper into the woods.

Tori looked at Blake, and he sighed and shook his head. Her eyes fell to his wrist as he crossed his arms and they widened.

Looking to his wrist, he noticed his morpher and pulled the sleeve of his jean jacket over it before looking up to see her smiling before she turned away. That only served to confuse him. She was a Ranger too, so why be surprised to see his morpher?

Then what she had said on the boat hit him.

_No. This is Summoner Tori's body._

Did that mean she didn't have her morpher? If that was the case, then he was the only _Ranger_ here. But then, _why_ was she smiling? Sighing, he followed the group into the forest, those were just more questions he'd have to have her answer at some point.

Catching up to the group had been easy, seeing as how they stopped near a large clearing. Tori was speaking to two women he easily recognized, they seemed to be warning her about a large fiend up ahead.

"Company, halt!" The red head stated firmly, blocking their way through the forest.

Pointing to the huge plant-like monster behind them, the deeper red head shook her head. "The fiend before us is Ochu, Lord of the Wood! We've had trouble with this one before. Remember, discretion is the better part of valor."

They moved off and he could only watch in shock as they left. Turning back to the group, he noticed Tori's barely concealed shock at seeing them as well. So it wasn't only their closest friends, the other Rangers, but other people they knew as well.

Moving forward, they followed Hunter's lead when he decided to battle the Ochu. He began casting fire spells on it as Blake attacked with his Thunder Blade, and Tori healed them. Shane used his blitzball to do darknes attack, but was struck by a tentacle and his face turned pale as he collapsed to one knee.

"Shit!" he cursed, holding the wound on his arm and Blake noticed a thin green vein skane up his arm from the wound.

Gasping, Tori ran over and cast an esuna on him, watching as the vein faded away and his skin reclaimed it's normal glow.

Shuddering a bit, he turned back to the plant and just barely dodged in time to keep from being hit by a tentacle. Suddenly, Ochu lowered to the ground and it's tentacles stopped moving. Holding off on his attack, Blake watched it a moment in confusion.

"It's sleeping! Don't let it! If it sleeps, it'll restore it's strength!" Hunter called, casting another fire spell on it.

Shane nodded and threw his ball, waking the creature up. "It's almost dead ya. Pound it good!" he cried.

Tilting his head a bit, and biting back a snicker at the inuendo Shane seemed to be good for, Blake jumped back to dodge another attack and sighed. _Come on already! Die!_ Jumping forward, he swung his blade at the midsection of the plant and watched with satisfaction as it collapsed and faded away.

Shane ran over to pick up what it dropped when the two women from before ran over.

"A Summoner and her Guardians. Very impressive!" The deeper red head stated in a clearly impressed tone.

The other red head nodded in agreement before turning to her partner. "Leanne sir, we should fight too!"she cried.

Leanne seemed to fight not to smile. "We'll get our chance soon enough Kelly."

Kelly smiled and skipped off with Leanne trailing behind her more seriously. "Young Crusaders gather 'round, we'll beat Sin into the ground!" she sang as they disappeared.

Blake gave himself a second to chuckle at them. Leanne seemed her same old self, but he never dreamt of the day he'd see his boss Kelly acting so childish and carefree. Hearing a giggle, he turned to see Tori laughing at them as well and smiled at her.

"Come on." Hunter stated firmly as he led them down a different path and to a large staircase.

Seeing the Aurochs stretching and grinning at him, Blake smirked, getting the jist of what they wanted. "You wanna race? Think you can beat me?" They nodded and smirked and he took his place beside them. Luckily, the staircase was wide enough to let them all stand side by side and still leave a little room between them.

Behind them, Shane smirked and turned to the group Summoner. "Tori, if you would?" he said politely.

Smirking, Tori walked up a stair ahead of them and stood off to the side. Looking at the group, she nodded. "Ready?" Without warning, she turned and ran up the stairs, hitching her skirt slightly to keep from tripping over it.

To say Blake was surprised would've been an understatement. "Wh-hey!" He and the others ran up after her, but with him being in Spira and not training, they managed to get ahead of him along with Shane whom he didn't even know was participating. As he neared the top, he noticed the Aurochs racing back down, but it wasn't a race. The panicked looks on their faces brought a feeling of worry to him and he increased his speed.

"L-Look out!" Datto cried as he passed Blake.

Shane called from the top of the stairs, worry thick in his voice. "Everyone, quick! Sinspawn!"

Frowning, Blake noticed Hunter running as his side and focused on getting to the top as fast as he could. _What the hell's a Sinspawn? I know what a Sinscale is. Is it anything like that?_

Getting to the large round platform, he noticed Tori behind Shane as he threw his blitzball at a large, obviously armoured monster, and looking around, he noticed four tentacles sticking up from the ground around it. "Geez! What's with the tentacles?" he muttered with a shake of his head as he raced into battle, drawing his Blade as he went.

_Obviously, it isn't._ he thought dryly.

"The body's armoured. We have to get the tentacles first!" Hunter called, casting a powerful Thunder spell that seemed a bit stronger than the ones he'd been using before.

_No shit Hunter! Try telling us something we didn't know!_

Tori ran behind Blake and readied herself to cast a spell. "He's on second level magics." she told him quietly, casting a protect on him and starting another spell. "Magics here have levels. The more you use your magic, the higher the level gets but there's only three levels of spells." She cast a null all spell. "Regular spells like thunder, fire, blizzard and water, Second level spells which Hunter is at now. Thundara, Blizzara, Watera and Fira. Then there's the most powerful elemental magics. Thundaga, Firaga Wateraga and Blizzaga." Finally, she cast haste to speed him up.

Blake gave her a warm smile in thanks and nodded his head to show he was listening. He turned back to the fiend to see a tentacle dash out for the Summoner and he blocked it with his Thunder Blade, and lashed out to strike it, only barely missing it as it pulled away.

Smiling, she turned her attention to Shane but stayed near him to explain more. "I know more white magic because Summoner Tori was a very powerful white mage. Protect will reduce the physical damage you take. Shell will reduce the magical damage. Reflect casts all magic back at the user instead of the person it's supposed to hit. Null all makes it so any possible elemental magics won't hurt you and Haste will speed you up."

Casting the same spells on Shane she'd cast on Blake, she smiled and ran over to Hunter next as Blake shrugged and mentally thanked her for the explanation. Taking a swing at a nearby tentacle, it did little damage, so he decided to try his thunder powers. True, they wouldn't expect that here, but it seemed to be the only thing working. It didn't seem as powerful as the Fira spells Hunter was using, but it should be more effective then using his Blade alone.

Closing his eyes, he gathered his energy and shot it out at the nearest tentacle. It shook from the attack and he grinned as it fell to the ground and faded away.

"Nice one ya! One down three more to go!" Shane called.

Turning to his friends, he bit back a wince to see Tori glaring at him, but she seemed to sigh and her look softened. She gave him a nod and he knew she was ok with him using his powers this time. Turning back to battle, he was hit by a tentacle and felt the stinging pain in his stomach as he was knocked off his feet.

"Blake!" Tori cried, running over and quickly kneeling down to aid him.

"Man." he groaned, rubbing his stomach gingerly. "Tell me again why I can't morph." That last statement was directed at Tori in a whisper so only she would hear him, and it earned him a raised eyebrow.

"Two reasons. First, everyone would think you're a fiend." she began, healing his wound and helping him to his feet. "And second, if they believed you were human, you'd be cast out or locked up because they'd think you were Al Bhed."

Frowning, he turned to her. "What's wrong with Al Bhed? Sure, they're a little...wacked," _and trigger happy, _"but they seemed like nice people when they helped me." Of course, he was refusing to mention the fact that they held him at gunpoint.

"They're considered heathens because they don't believe in the same things others do." She shook her head and recast protect on him. "You'll probably find out later, just don't mention them to Shane. Hunter's tolerant when it comes to them, but Shane hates them with a passion." She rolled her eyes slightly showing how she felt about that.

He had to admit, he agreed with her. The Shane he knew could be a fairly serious guy, but other than Lothor, and Blake's bro and him for a while, he doesn't openly _hate_ anyone. "Ok. Fine. I won't say anything." he grudgingly admitted.

Tori nodded and turned to the fight. Closing her eyes, she Summoned Valefor and directed him to distract the main body to keep it from spitting poison at them.

Blake focused his energies again and aimed for the tentacle Shane was working on. That one fell too, and there was only two left. Hunter was working on a third, but his magic was obviously getting low, by the way he was panting and shaking his head before trying to focus on a spell, so Blake went after that one next, nudging Tori's arm and pointing at the exhausted black mage as he ran passed.

Using his thunder powers, he blocked the tentacle's attack and hurt it, but it remained standing. He noticed Tori heal Hunter and give him another white vial which he happily drank, and the black mage immediately cast a Fira at it, but other than heavily damaging it, the tentacle remained standing. Hunter had to charge his next attack, and Blake was going to do the same when he noticed it shoot out, and turned his head to see Tori with her back to it, healing Shane.

"TORI! LOOK OUT!" he called, rushing forward to try and block the attack. He saw her turn, but he wasn't fast enough and it swung, catching her in the midsection and sending her flying with a painful scream. "TORI!" Slicing visciously at the tentacle, he hit it twice in a spin before sticking the blade in the ground and jumping into the air, swinging around it and kicking the thing hard.

Landing, he took off towards where he'd seen Tori land and noticed her moving sluggishly to stand. Running over, he gently took her arm and helped her. "You ok?"

"Yeah." she wheezed, holding a hand over her midsection, she healed herself and looked at him with a smirk. "You were worried about me." she teased.

He knew where she was going with this, but was too relieved to see her alright, to joke with her. Looking towards the others, he noticed they couldn't see them and he turned back, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Yeah. I was." he admitted into her short blonde hair as he held her close.

"Blake." she breathed slightly and he felt her arms come around to hold him back. "There's so much you need to know, but now isn't a good time."

He could hear the sadness in her voice and nodded into her shoulder. Pulling away, he noticed that she looked sad too and wondered why, but Hunter's voice interrupted them.

"Tori! Are you alright?" he called from near the monster.

She smiled at Blake before she nodded and ran back out to the fight. "Yeah!" she called back.

Rolling his eyes, Blake followed her. _Gee bro. I'm good too. Thanks for the worry._ he thought sarcastically as he joined back in the fight.

He noticed that the final tentacles were gone and that the shell-like armour had opened up on the monster. He honestly couldn't describe what he was saying, but one word seemed to explain it perfectly. "Freaky."

They attacked away, and Valefor, who was still there, did it's fair share of damage too before the thing collapsed and faded away.

"Geez!" Blake groaned, crouching down and catching his breath.

Shane offered a small laugh and clapped him on the shoulder. "Sorry 'bout that. Hoped to break you in a little slower."

Raising an eyebrow, he shrugged. "I'm just a newby. So what?" he put in sarcastically. He noticed Shane wince at that and sighed as he decided to change the subject. "Being a Guardian's tiring!"

"You handled yourself pretty well. You got talent." Shane said with a knowing grin.

Shaking his head, he stood up. "Nah." _What I got is experience. Just...not with this kind of monster._ "So, what're these 'Sinspawn' anyways?"

Though he'd directed the question at Shane, Hunter was the one to answer. What surprised Blake was the lack of hostility in his voice. "Fiends. They fall from Sin's body and are left behind in the wake."

Shane nodded. "Leave 'em alone, and Sin comes back for 'em. You gotta be quick!"

I thought a lot about what he said as we continued to the temple. Being a Guardian to Tori, that sounded like something I'd do in a heartbeat. So when he told me I had talent, I think that's when I started to seriously consider it. It wouldn't be permanent, that's for sure. Only until we found a way back.

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I was waiting for a chapter break, and didn't even realize I had one. --' Oh well, chapter 6 up. I really hope you like it.

Thank you to Leanne and Kelly doe the Guest appearances.

**Kelly**: No prob. Can I get back to my store now? It's probably really busy.

**Leanne**: Yeah and I have to go back into...(looks at Kelly)...go back to...(sighs)...oh screw it. I have to go.

(both girls walk away)

Thank you to those who reviewed and gave me the motivation to continue.

R+R

Thank you

Tenshi.


	7. Kilika Temple

**Disclaimer** : I don't own aything.

**Note** : I'm sure you noticed the appearance of Leanne and Kelly in the previous chapter. This chapter too will have guest appearances. Hope you like it.

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(Kilika Temple, Blake's POV)

I noticed as we made out way into the temple, that a lot of the priests and civilians bowed respectfully to Tori as we walked by. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to make of this. How did everyone know she was a Summoner? Or _did_ they know?

I also noticed several statues, and I mean _huge_ statues of people in the room. One was of a man with short hair, and he seemed to be older. I saw Shane kneel at the base of his statue and pray, and managed to hear him saying the name Ohalland. I guessed it was another Summoner or something.

Then there was one of a man with long brown hair, who was dressed in robes, whereas this Ohalland was dressed in baggy pants and a lose top. I saw Tori was over to this one and bow down respectfully, who he was, I had no idea. And finally, there was one of a woman with long white hair who was dressed in what looked like a skimpy bikini.

"Who were these people?"

I felt a presence beside me and saw Hunter standing there, giving he an unreadable look. "Don't tell me you don't know."

Sighing, I shook my head. Again, I never knew it to begin with. "I don't remember." I stated with a shrug.

"The one Shane is praying to is Lord Ohalland, High Summoner of Kilika. He was a professional blitzball player as well as a Summoner who defeated Sin." he explained with a sigh as he pointed to the statue of the older man with the short hair. Next he pointed to the one Tori was praying at. "Lord Braska. High Summoner ob Bevelle, and Tori's father. He was the most recent one to defeat Sin."

"Whoa! Wait. Tori's father?" I questioned incredulously. I didn't know much about her father, but as far as I knew, his name wasn't Braska, and he died a long time ago.

Hunter shot my narrowed eyes that looked irritated and suspicious. "Yes. Her father. 10 years ago, he journeyed to get the Final Aeon and save Spira. Yuna knew the path she chose when she became of age. She wishes to give Spira a new Calm."

_Calm. A 10 year period of peace where Sin is dormant. After that time, it rises back up and causes more damage._ I thought to myself, piecing bits of information I'd gotten together. "I see." I mumbled, watching as Tori slowly stood up and walked over to Shane, where she knelt at his side. That made my eyebrow rise. Was she praying for blitzball too?

"The last one is the first Summoner to ever defeat Sin." Hunter spoke up, causing me to look at him. His eyes were narrowed and the suspicion he'd casted at me was transferred to the statue. "Tori's name sake. Lady Victoria, first High Summoner, out of Bevelle. It was her, 1000 years ago, who defeated Sin."

"But if she defeated him, then why was Zanarkand so completely destroyed?" I unconsciously wondered out loud.

Hunter's face spun to me, his eyes wide in shock. "How...what do you know about that?" He demanded quietly, seemingly not wanting to draw attention to himself.

Realizing my mistake, I struggled to find an excuse. "Uhhh...I saw it." _And that's not going to help._ I thought, mentally rolling my eyes when Hunter's eyebrow skyrocketed and he folded his arms across his chest. "I remember hearing about it." I tried again. Sighing, I shook my head. "Relax bro. I don't remember k? I just remember hearing about it." I insisted, raising my hands and looking him in the eyes.

Sighing, Hunter shrugged. "We should get going." With that, he turned and walked towards the other two.

Frowning, I looked to the statues. _So...what he means is...everyone prays to a bunch of clay statues of Summoners, or something._ I thought in confusion. But again, it didn't make any sense. 1000 years was a long time, so why only three large statues? And what's with all the smaller statues around the walls? So he explained the stautes to me, but it didn't help.

I couldn't help but wonder, if those were the 'High Summoners' who temporarily beat Sin before, where were they now?"

"Blake."

Turning my head, I noticed Shane motioning me over and I walked to them, noticing two unfamiliar people walking out of the doorway at the top of the stairs and approaching Tori. I stood by her side, not liking the icy look of the blonde woman in front of her.

The blonde woman had light brown eyes, and wore a very revealing dress that left little to the imagination. She held a staff at her side and gave my Summoner a withering look. The man behind her had long brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and brown eyes. He crossed his arms and stood behind the woman, watching all of us warily. He was dressed in white robes that I found to be rather familiar to ninja style robes, and the emblem on his check was that of a falcon.

"A Summoner, are you?" The woman asked in an airy tone.

Tori nodded, and gave her a sweet smile, though I had the feeling she wanted to knock this witch's head off. "My name is Tori. I come from the Isle of Besaid." she said, bowing to the woman in respect.

The woman gave a small laugh and shook her head, sticking her hip out and placing her hand on it. "Kimberly. So you're High Summoner Braska's daughter. That's quite a name to live up to."

And from the sounds of her voice, she didn't expect Tori to go far at all. She was condescending and it made _me_ want to hit her, but I refrained, folding my own arms across my chest.

"My, my, my...And all these people are your Guardians? My, what a rabble!"

I grit my teeth and went to take a step forward, when I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see Shane holding me back and Hunter shaking his head. Their messages were clear, leave Tori to deal with her.

"As I recall, Lord Braska only had two Guardians. Quality over quantity, my dear. Whatever _were_ you thinking? I have only need of one Guardian. Right, Tommy?"

I saw his eyes light up as he nodded quickly, offering a quiet 'Kim' under his breath. If was obvious the poor guy was heads over heels, and when I looked closely at Kimberly, I could swear it was mutual, before she reassumed the haughty air he was using the whole time.

Tori sighed and shook her head. "I only have so many Guardians as there are people I can trust. I trust them all with my life! To have so many Guardians is a joy, and an honour! Even more so than being my father's daughter. Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways either. So, Lady Kimberly, I ask of you: Please leave us in peace."

I had to bite my lip to hold back from either laughing at the offended look on Kimberly's face, or to keep my jaw from dropping at Tori's poetic way of telling her to go screw herself.

Raising her head, Kimberly tried to recover her dignity. "You do what you want. Tommy? We're leaving!"

With that, she strolled out of the room, Tommy trailing after her, giving her enough space that he wouldn't be hit by her staff when she swung it.

_A Guardian's someone a Summoner can trust with their life._ It made me wonder, did Tori feel that way about me?

I felt a pang of hurt run through me when I remembered how I'd used her to get to Ninja Ops, and how betrayed she looked and felt. I never expected her to speak to me again, so it was a big shock to hear her talking like that. Looking at her, I saw her smiling and raised an eyebrow as I followed them into the temple to get the next Aeon, Ifrit.

_What's she smiling about?_

We reached another elevator, and stood just outside it as we got ready to go.

Shane grinned and nodded. "The Fayth is below. Let's do it!"

Frowning, I remembered the Fayth. They were souls of the dead, special ones. Instead of turning into fiends, they were bound to help the Summoners in battle. Forever supposed to be good, unless the Summoner is corrupted. Basically, bound to whatever Summoner obtains their power.

Hunter nodded at Shane. "But first, the Cloister of Trials. Shane? Tori? Are you ready?"

Looking at him, I felt my frown deepen. Was he purposely ignoring me? Or was the omittion of my name meant to _mean_ something?

"Strength, everyone!" Tori spoke in determination.

Getting onto the elevator, I followed them, but was pushed off by Hunter who glared at me. "Hey! What gives?!" I cried as I glared right back.

Hunter almost seemed to smirk. "You're not a Guardian yet." he pointed out.

Tori nodded, though she looked sad. "We'll be back soon, ok?"

Nodding, I kept frowning as they left and grumbled to myself as I paced around. "Yeah sure. Soon like 'tomorrow' soon, I bet!" Turning, I noticed strange pcitures on the walls that I couldn't identify, and silently wondered to myself. _If I'm to protect the Summoner, how can I do that if I can't go with them?_

I noticed the elevator returned and turnd towards the doorway when I heard the sound of footsteps. Kimberly and Tommy stood behind me, and the Summoner looked smug to see me alone, making me wonder what the hell she wanted.

"Where's Tori?" she questioned in mild confusion.

I pointed behind me to the elevator. "Down there." I answered with a shrug.

She raised her eyebrow. "Then _what_ are you doing up here?"

There was that 'mightier-then-thou' attitude that was seriously starting to piss me off. "I'm not a Guardian, so I'm not supposed to go in, right?" I answered with a glare as I took a step back.

Now she gave an evil smirk that creeped me out. "Not a Guardian you say?" she repeated. Casting a quick glance at her Guardian, Tommy walked forward and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder, walking to the elevator and dropping me on it. He activated it and walked away, as I struggled to get off before it could descend.

"What's the big idea?" I cried as the lift started down.

Kimberly smirked and shrugged. "Just a little game." she stated sweetly, walking away with Tommy shooting me apologetic looks over his shoulder.

Shaking my head, I settled myself for what was coming. "This is bad. _Very_ bad!" I muttered. _Evil, conniving witch and that bastard of a Guardian of hers!_ I mentally ranted as the lift settled to the bottom floor. "Only Guardians allowed, and I'm sure no Guardian. Oh well, too late to turn back now." I sighed to myself. Stepping off, I made my way through the Cloister of Trials, which was strangely, a lot like the Besaid Cloister, and soon found my way to Hunter and Shane.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shane cried, frowning as I walked into the room.

Quickly raising my hands in a sign of surrender, I sighed and rolled my eyes, pointing my thumb over my head. "It was Kimberly and that big muscleheaded guy!"

Hunter looked towards yet another door at the top of a flight of stairs. "Tori will be the one to suffer the consequences." he told me.

Frowning, I didn't like the sounds of that. "Consequences?"

Shane sighed. "She could be excommunicated!" he exclaimed in worry, before settling down.

Walking over to Hunter, I stood next to him and watched the door as well, secretly praying to whatever deity that Tori was safe. I heard a sigh and noticed Hunter's pose relax a bit, though he kept his arms crossed over his chest and leaned against a wall. "The chamber beyond that door is a sacred place." he said, unconsciously answering my unspoken question. "Only Summoners are allowed in."

"What about Guardians? They can't go?" I questioned as I crossed my arms over my own chest. _I mean, they should be allowed in too, right?_

Shane gasped and shook his head quickly. "It's taboo!" he exclaimed vehemantly. I nodded to Hunter and walked over to Shane who looked at me and offered a half smirk. "Just wait."

_Wait? Wait for what?_ I was confused by everything, which was getting a little irritating. As soon as I got answers to my questions, new questions popped up, and it seemed they'd never end. "So, what's in there anyways?" I asked casually, hoping to spark a conversation to get more answers.

"The Fayth, remember?"

"Right." _Huh?_ "That thing." As if I knew much about it at all. In other words, she was locked in a room with a ghost or something?

Hunter groaned and stood up straight, rolling his shoulders as he took a step towards the stairs. "The Fayth are those who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still living bodies."

_Ewwww!_ That left a mental picture I didn't need. Shuddering, I shook my head and quickly banished the images as I nodded to Hunter, hoping he'd _stop_ the explanations!

"Now they live forever..."

_I guess he didn't take the hint._ I thought sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

Hunter shot me a look to say he caught my hint all too well, but was ignoring me, making me want to take my thunder blade and shove it up his-

"...trapped in statues." he continued, effectively interrupting my thoughts. "But when a Summoner beckons, the souls of the Fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an Aeon."

_And that made all of little sense to me._ I thought with a mental groan, nodding again. "All that, in this room?" The idea of Tori surrounded with ghosts and monsters made me frown. "So...what's Tori do in there?"

It seemed Shane finally decided to jump into the conversation. "She prays with all her heart for a way to defeat Sin."

And here we were, back on the subject of Sin. No matter what we talked about, it always led back to that monster, and the same question I asked myself every time. Why didn't the previous Summoner kill it again?

That's when Tori made her appearance. The door opened up and she stumbled out, clearly exhausted. She was pale and sweaty, and I wondered how someone could get that way from praying. What else was going on? What were they hiding from me?

We finally left the temple. Luckily, there was no sign of Summoner Kimberly or her Guardian Tommy. As we left, we made our way down to the base of the forest, where Hunter and Shane walked ahead and Tori walked up to me.

"Are...are you ok?" she asked softly, briefly resting her hand on my arm and looking at me in concern.

Shrugging, I shook my head. "Not really. I miss home." _And everyone there._ I thought sadly.

She nodded and smiled, a mischievious spark, playing in her eyes. "What do you wanna do?" she asked, slipping into her normal speech, seeing as no one else was around.

Giving her a smirk, I shrugged again. "Scream real loud." I admitted. There was so much going on and I felt so lost. It was like a big pressure building up in my chest, and I felt ready to explode. Shaking my head, I give in when Tori nods and scream at the top of my lungs, making Hunter and Shane jumpe and spin around, looking for the source of what made me scream.

Giving them sheepish smiles and muttering a quite apology, I noticed Tori holding back a laugh as she raced over to them, and we continued to Kilika port. What I wouldn't admit was, I felt a _hell_ of a lot better after letting it out.

Once we made it to the boat, Shane grinned at me as we boarded. "Next stop is Luca. The blitzball matches begin when we get there so rest up."

With that, he and the others left, going below deck, and leaving me to wonder why he wanted me to rest up when I wasn't a player in the game. I remembered that they said they'd look for someone who knew me in Luca, but I already knew, no one would.

Not when I was from a totally different world.

(Night Time)

I couldn't sleep. Too much going on and too many questions haunting my mind. Instead of trying, I got up off my bunk, and went up on deck. I noticed Hunter walking up to the second, smaller deck, and followed him up, using my Ninja skills to remain silent. Noticing that Shane was up there too, I hid on the stairs and listened to their conversation.

Don't ask me why. Sure, I knew evesdropping was bad, and I could get into a lot of trouble, but something told me to listen.

Besides, Tori was busy being surrounded by people again.

"Well, say something. You'll take responsibility?" Hunter demanded.

Turning my attention from Tori to them, I noticed him speaking to Shane who almost seemed to cower in front of his anger.

Shaking his head, Shane tried to brush it off. "Relax! He's bound to know someone in Luca."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Hunter continued to glare at him. "And if he doesn't?"

"He could always join a blitz team. Besides, it's better than just leaving him in Besaid!"

"What? Just leaving him in Luca?" Hunter snorted disbelievingly.

_They want to leave me behind?_ I thought incredulously. First of all, how was I supposed to 'protect the Summoner' if I was left behind, and second...how could they just abandon me like that?

Frowning, Shane sat down against the mast. "What do you want me to do?"

"Tori wants to make him a Guardian."

Sighing, Shane let his head drop. "Oh yeah, geez...there's that too, eh?"

Raising his eyebrow, Hunter leaned back. "And who's fault is that?" he demanded.

"Not mine!" Shane shot back.

Shaking my head, I sighed silently. _No. It's mine for thinking you'd help me._ I thought sadly, really feeling alone at that moment.

Hunter continued glaring at Shane and the latter let out a resigned sigh. "It is my fault, huh?"

Not wanting to listen to anymore, I walked away, and went to where I'd last seen Tori. I noticed she was alone and walked up, determined not to let her see my pain. "Hey."

Turning around, she smiled. "Hey Blake. What's up?"

_Other than the fact that I might not be near you much longer?_ I thought sadly. Giving a shrug, I looked out over the water. "Nothing much really."

"What...what would you do if we could go home right now?" Tori asked softly.

Looking at her, I raised an eyebrow. "I honestly don't know. Probably smack Cam one for making us go to Zanarkand."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I miss fighting Lothor." she admitted with a small, sad smile.

Remembering her reaction towards my morpher, I looked at her wrists and noticed she didn't have hers. That confirmed what I realized earlier. I'm the only Ranger here. "We're running into everyone." I muttered absentmindedly.

"First you run into Dustin. I run into Hunter and Shane. Then we run into Leanne and Kelly." She giggled, obviously remembering how his boss had acted. Tilting her head, she thought for a moment. "I don't know why, but Kimberly and Tommy were familiar."

Shrugging, I kept looking out over the water. "I didn't recognize them."

We talked a little longer, just going over random things, before we decided to turn in for the night. I doubted I'd be able to sleep at all, but I figured that if everyone else was trying, I'd try too.

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There we go. Another chapter up! Special thanks to Kimberly and Tommy for the guest appearances.

**Kimberly** : Yes yes, whatever. Tommy! We're leaving!

**Tommy** : (grumbles and follows her out)

Ahem! Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. Many more special appearances and two more Guardians coming along in the story.

Thank you.

R+R please.

Tenshi


	8. Luca Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own PRNS or FFX.

**Note** : Here's the next chapter. What do I have in store for Summoner Tori? For those of you who never played Final Fantasy, or don't know what it's about...probably not what you'd expect.

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(Luca, Normal POV)

As we pulled up to the gigantic city, Blake felt his jaw drop. Other than the giant sphere of water in the center of the city, it looked just like an earth town. Many boats were pulling into the docks, people were milling around, a few dgs raced by, yipping excitedly. For a few seconds, he actually allowed himself to believe he was home.

Yet that vanished out the window once he saw the occassional big blue, furry cat-like people walking around. They were easily taller than the humans but seemed sentient and for the most part, nice. Then there were these other strange people that he didn't know what to make of. They didn't look like anything he could explain. Pale blue veins crawled across their foreheads and faces, extremely long fingers that could border on claws, and oddly colored hair, in bright shades of blue, green, yellow or purple. And that's not counting those blue frog-like people, the weird duck person he saw running by and obviously, the giant yellow chickens, chocobos.

"What're you staring at?"

Slowly looking to the side, he blinked lazily and noticed that Tori had come up to his side. Shrugging, he gestured to the giant city in front of them. "That. For a moment there, I though we were home. Then I saw those blue..." He shrugged again, helplessly. "Things. And those guys with the weird hair, veiny faces and inhumanly long fingers."

Giggling, Tori shook her head. "The big blue...'things' as you called them, are Ronso. They're very strong, warriors from Mt. Gagazet. Those 'other guys' are called Guado. They _seem_ nice, but I don't know. When I look at them, I can't help but feel like something bad's going to happen."

"No." Shaking his head, Blake kept staring as they finally docked at the city. "I won't _let_ anything happen to you."

"You might not have a choice." Tori said sadly, looking at the ground in front of them. "There's so much you don't know. Blake, I might-"

"Tori! Blake! We're leaving!" Hunter's voice called to him.

Groaning, Blake turned to wave at the blonde mage, before sighing. "Just like my Hunter. Always got the worst possible timing." he muttered irritably.

"I know." Tori groaned along with him, before pasting a sweet smile to her face, winking at him and running off to join the others. he followed along, at a slower pace, taking in what she was trying to tell him. _She might...she might what?_ Shaking his head, Blake decided not to worry too much at the moment.

Once we were off the boat, everyone stopped and listened to what sounded like an air broadcast of some sort. Listening for a moment, Blake was able to make out that it was for the blitzball tournament.

"Ah! Over there! The ships carrying the players are arriving now! All the way from Kilika, it's the Kilika Beasts! High Summoner Ohalland used to play for them...a big name to live up to. Their hometown was recently attacked by Sin, isn't that right, Jimma?" one man spoke out loud, and Blake heard no sympathy in his voice what-so-ever.

The other guy, he guessed was Jimma, answered him just as loudly. "Yes Bobba. They're going to be pulling out all the stops to try and bring back the cup this year."

"Exciting, isn't it, folks?" Bobba cried, sounding like he was getting into the spirit of the game. "Our next team off the ramp, is...Well, well, well! If it isn't the Besaid Aurochs!"

The way he said that and the way everyone began laughing, made Blake bristle and glare coldly out into the crowd. As much as he might not have been a fan of the sport, it still bugged him they were laughing at Shane and his team.

"They're a living, breathing, statisitcal impossibility!"

_Read dictionaries much?_ he wondered with a raised eyebrow. _I don't think I've even heard _Cam_ get that bad before!_

"I've never seen a team this bad! That's right! In 23 years, they've never made it past the first round! Only a few die-hard fans are in the audience today."

"23 years?" Blake muttered under his breath. Looking at Shane who looked sheepish but no less determined to win the prize, he shook his head. "Good luck then." _You're gonna need it._

Jimma spoke up then. "Best of luck to them, and have a safe journey back to Besaid."

"Right, Jimma. Moving right along, our next team is... Here they are folks! Our very own Luca Goers!..."

Blake blocked a lot of what they were saying out as he glared at the crowd who turned and ignored the Aurochs. By the pompus looks on the faces of the home team, he knew they would be a pain, and before he knew what he was doing, he was looking for something.

"They know, I know, and you know, folks! The Luca Goers are number 1!"

Without even thinking, he jumped on top of a large crate and raised the megaphone he'd grabbed to his lips. "Stop right there Goers!" he shouted, earning the attention of everyone. He faintly noticed Tori looking at him like he was insane and Hunter's wide eyes. Shane tried to grab him and pull him off the crate, but he pulled himself out the way and continued. "You guys are smilin' right now, but not for long! 'Cause this year, the Aurochs are taking the cup!"

Realizing what he'd just done, he felt his face heat up and he quickly jumped off the crate, landing on the ground and setting the megaphone aside. _What the hell was I thinking?_

As if reading his thoughts, Shane stared incredulously at him and shook his head. "What in Yevon's name were you thinkin' up there?"

Datto laughed and slapped one of the other Aurochs on the back. "We sure stood out, though!"

The other Auroch, Letty, nodded in agreement. "We were on the sphere!"

Raising an eyebrow, he watched the two blitzers in confusion. _Sphere?_

"We were?" Datto asked excitedly.

Suddenly, three people ran by screaming about something.

"Maester Mika is here!" one man cried with a huge smile and awed look on his face.

The woman in the group gasped and turned to him. "Already?"

"The number 3 dock!" the second man yelled as they ran out of sight.

Shaking his head, Blake turned to see the others all looking awed, but Tori looked worried. She caught his eye and slowly shook her head, mouthing the words 'don't do anything when you see him'. Nodding slightly to her, he turned to Shane and Hunter. "What's up now?"

Tori gave a huge smile and widened her eyes as she ran up to him. "Maester Mika has arrived! That's what!" she cried excitedly.

_I got that much Tor._ he thought with an absent nod. "Mika? Maester?"

Hunter nodded his head, still looking in the direction the three people had run off in. "Maester Mika is the leader of all the peoples of Spira. He's come all the way from Bevelle. The tournament is being held to honour his 50 years as Maester." His tone was even, but a hint of respect slipped out in his words.

"50 years? Shouldn't he be retired by now?" Blake asked absently as he frowned slightly.

Shane swatted his shoulder lightly with a frown. "Hey! Mind your mouth, now!" he scolded.

Tori ignored them and walked towards the direction the people had run off in. Turning back to her Guardians, she smiled and gestured for them to follow her. "Let's all go see him!" she cheered.

Running after everyone, they made it to the sock that Blake guessed, was the number 3 dock. A large, fancy boat sat docked there, and a large crowd of people surrounded it. Walking up, he tried to see what was going on, but could barely make out anything. "I can't see a thing!" he complained as he frowned and considered Ninja Streaking through the crowd.

Just as quickly as that thought came, it fled, as he knew it was a _very_ bad idea to even consider it.

"Sshhhh!" Shane scolded.

Resisting the urge to hit him, Blake turned back to the crowd and felt his eyes widen at what he was seeing. "No...No way!" _Shit!_ he mumbled under his breath, holding back the urge to morph and destroy the man walking off the boat. He chanced a quick glance at Tori who'd gone pale, and noticed her looking back, shaking her head and again mouthing 'don't do anything' to him.

Long black hair back in a ponytail. Same black robes that barely marked him as a ninja, and the black mask that covered most of his face. The evil haunt of his black eyes, and a grin that could almost be described as 'pleasant' if it wasn't for who's face it sat on.

"..." he couldn't make his mouth work. As much as he wanted to shout the name, he was in shock, and he was worried.

What was he doing here? How'd he get here? Blake was the only one here with the ability to morph, making their group really vulnerable to any attacks he might deside to throw.

_This just keeps getting worse and worse!_ Blake thought angrily as he noticed the man move off the boat and stand waiting.

A man next to him turned to his companions and whispered to them. "That's the new Maester, right? He's half Guado, isn't he?"

"He doesn't look it." a woman said with awe as she shook her head. "Who could it be?"

Another woman sighed and tilted her head a bit as she studied the man. "It's...Maester Lothor, isn't it?" she asked uncertainly.

Feeling his eyes widen, Blake spun to look at the woman in shock. _MAESTER Lothor?! What the hell!?_ his mind screamed. Taking a few calming breaths, he clenched his hands into fists at his side and stood his ground, determined to do as Tori suggested and not do anything. As much as he wanted to skin that monster alive for what he did to the ninjas...and to his and Hunter's parents...he'd hold back for now.

Soon, an old man walked off the boat, and the crowd cheered for him. He lifted a hand and waved slightly, and as they calmed down, began to speak. "People of Spira. I thank you for your generous welcome." He turned to Lothor who was also bowing in homage and smiled. "Rise, Maester Lothor." Turning back to the crowd, he nodded. "All of you as well. I present to you...the son of Maester Jyscal Watanabe, who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a Maester of Yevon."

Lothor rose and turned to the crowd. His eyes passed over many people, including Blake, but they held no recognition, making the Navy Ranger wonder if he was evil in this world too, or if he was simply jaded for what the Lothor in his world did.

"I am Lothor Watanabe." he said confidently, his voice lighter and holding less venom than Blake had expected. "I am honoured to recieve the title of Maester. In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as Maester to the best of my ability."

Everyone bows again and prays all around him as he looks out over the crowd. Only Blake is left standing, wondering if his instincts were right and this man was just as evil as the Lothor he knew.

Shane turned to him and elbowed him in the gut lightly, making Blake hunch over and glare at him. "You too! Bow your head!" The coach of the Aurochs hissed quietly.

Doing so briefly, he relaxed when the crowd began paying attention once more. The Maesters and their guards walked slowly off, towards the large city of Luca, but Lothor paused and stared into the crowd. Following his gaze, Blake let out a low growl and had to fight with every fibre of his being, not to grab his thunder blade and cut the man in half with it.

Lothor was staring at Tori.

_His_ Tori.

Their Summoner, who looked sick and frightened under his gaze, which held emotions Blake couldn't name.

As quickly as the eye contact had been established, it had passed. With a smile that sent shivers of disgust down the spine of the young woman it was directed at, he turned and walked away, acting like nothing had happened.

(Locker Room)

After about an hour of travelling through the thick, milling crowds of Luca, Blake and the others made it to the blitz stadium mostly in one piece. Shane had gone off somewhere quickly, leaving the other to do as they please.

Blake split off from the ground and wandered into the locker room, where the rest of the Aurochs were relaxing and huddling, obviously making plans for the upcoming games. Shrugging a bit, he decided to break into their talk, seeing as how it had turned to every crushing loss they'd ever suffered. "Where'd Shane go?" he questioned, keeping his voice strictly curious.

Datto sighed and sat down. "He went to the match-up draws ya."

"We had to play the Goers in the first match last year. The year before that, and the one before that too!" Letty cried in despair as he sat next to his team mate.

Keepa sighed and walked over, shaking his head. "Well, we would've lost to anyone anyway." he muttered dejectedly.

Shaking his head, Blake folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, as Shane finally walked in.

"Capt'n Shane!" Datto cried, standing up immediately.

Giving a grin, Shane nodded to him. "We're playin' the Al Bhed Psyches first!"

Raising an eyebrow, Blake remembered Tori telling him Shane hated the Al Bhed. But if they were such outcasts, then why were they allowed to play blitzball? And why would Shane seem so happy to play against them? Unless...the Goers were really brutal and he just felt relieved to play someone different.

"If we win, we're in the Finals!"

Now his other eyebrow rose to join the first one. _What kind of game only has two rounds to win? Win the first match and you're in the finals?_ That really didn't make much sense to him, but remembering there weren't too many teams signed up for the tournament, he guessed it was normal.

"That's right! We got seeded! Two wins and we're the champions! First things first, let's go over the basics again boys!"

They sat down and began discussing strategies. I overheard them saying their goal was to 'do their best' and realized that their chances of winning the prize were very low. Deciding not to interfere, he sat back and tuned them out as he relaxed.

All of a sudden, Tori came rushing in alone, seeming excited. Blake was caught between yelling in shock and embarrassment for the way she ran into a _locker room_ or just letting it pass. Seeing as how none of the other guys seemed the slightest bit fazed, he shrugged and figured it must happen a lot or something.

"There you are!" she cried as she panted to catch her breath. Her eyes flew from Shane's confused look, to Blake's concerned one. "Someone said they saw Sir Cam in a cafe!"

"C-Cam?" Blake stuttered in shock. He briefly wondered if it was his Cam or one from this world. A large part of him hoped it was his Cam. If it was, he would be the best one for figuring a was home, plus then he could smack him for making them go to Zanarkand in the first place.

Tori spun to face me, still smiling, but an uncertain look hiding behind her eyes as her shoulder length hair brushed her face. "Yes, Sir Cam! Let's go find him!"

Getting the hint, Blake nodded immediately and moved away from the wall, heading towards the door with her.

Shane quickly stood up, a shocked and almost worried look covering his face. "Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! The game starts like real soon! C-Come back quick, ya?"

"Hey, we'll be back." Blake reassured him, nodding to Tori who nodded eagerly.

He didn't seem convinced. "Yeah, okay."

Giving a laugh, Blake walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Shane. You're stiff man. No, no, not your face. Just breathe out, relax. Like this." He demonstrated taking several deep breaths and held back his laughter and Shane nervously followed. "Just breathe, yeah!" Once he had it, Blake moved to Tori's side and they left together.

"Maybe now we can find a way home." Tori muttered quietly from beside him.

Blake nodded. "Yeah I know."

"Do you think it's the Cam we know?"

Sighing, he shrugged. "Honestly? I dunno Tor. It could be, but with our luck, it's probably not."

Tori smiled and nodded before running ahead.

"Wha-hey!" he cried as he saw her disappear. _She's getting too into this act of hers._ he thought disdainfully. He noticed two people as he approached them, looking briefly after Tori.

"Y myto Summoner! (A lady Summoner!)" The first one mutterred in shock, to his friend.

The second Al Bhed nodded. "Fa sicd nabund. (We must report.)"

Not getting what they said, he shrugged and approached them, wondering if they knew anything about Dustin. "Hey! Al Bhed Psyches, right? Some Al Bhed saved me the other day and...this guy, Dustin, gave me food...and, uhh...You don't understand me, do you? Uh, anyways...if you meet Dustin, tell him thanks for me. Oh, and as for the first game? May the best team win." He felt a little stupid for talking to them when they obviously didn't understand him, but at the same time, he felt he had to try.

Walking off, he noticed Tori waiting for him at the entrance to the city, and joined her. Together, they walked into the milling crowd, and Blake had to grab her hand to keep them from getting suspicious. When she turned to look at him, he noticed a faint pink tinge to her cheeks and felt his own warming up as he followed her through the town.

A camera crew suddenly focuses on her, and she quickly removes her hand from his as she pushes her way through the crowd, Blake right behind her. "I'm sorry. Please, let me through."

"You're really famous." he muttered offhand as he followed her through the town, bypassing huge stores that made the Blue Bay Mall look like a corner store.

She nodded and looked a little bit worried. "I hope we don't get separated."

Pulling her to a stop, Blake called to her. "Tori!" When she looked back, he raised his hands to his mouth and blew sharply.

Raising an eyebrow, she grinned and giggled. "And how'd you do that?" she questioned incredulously.

Blake laughed and raised his eyebrow right back at her. "It's a whistle. Come on Tor. I'm sure you know how to whistle."

Getting an impish look, she walked forward and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I do. You put your lips together and blow."

Shivering from that, he nodded slowly as she pulled away. _That's an age old pick up line. _"Right." he muttered weakly, before clearing his throat and turning serious. "So why'd you ask?"

"'Cause I know how to whistle a tune, but not like you did." she replied simply with a shrug.

Getting her meaning he nodded. "Ahh...ok." Raising his hand again, he placed his fingers in the correct pose and showed it to her, which she immediately copied. Then he put his fingers in his mouth, and she copied that too. "You put your fingers in your mouth like this." he spoke, his words coming out garbled.

Giggling, she nodded, and tried to whistle, but only a weak sound of blowing air came out. Pouting, she turned to him. "It's not working." she whined innocently.

Shrugging, he smiled and lowered his hand. "Practice." he advised her, and she nodded.

"Hey, use that if we get separated. Then I'll come running, okay?" He made a face and shook his head. "Well, guess we should stick together, then, till you can do it."

Tori giggled again and mock saluted him. "Yes, sir!" she chirped happily.

They continued on, soon getting to the town square and Blake stopped, staring in awe at the sight of the large city around them. "Whoa! This is a pretty big town!"

"Luca is the second largest city in Spira." she told him seriously.

Frowning, he digested that. "I thought every town was little, you know, like Besaid and Kilika."

She nodded and looked out over the milling people. "Town's don't usually get much larger than that. Because when a lot of people begin to gather..."

When Tori trailed off, Blake knew where she was going. Once again, Sin was the topic of the day. "Sin, right? What about Luca? It's safe here?"

"It's not any different, but the stadium's here. The Crusaders fight to protect it with everything they have."

"They protect the stadium?" he asked incredulously. Of all the things worth protecting, he hardly saw a stadium as one of them.

She nodded again. "Blitzball's really the only entertainment that we have. Spira's a little short of fun these days." she said sadly.

He couldn't help but wonder what the people of this world did, to cause so much grief and pain. "Whoa! Talk about pressure!"

"Let's go find Cam." Tori said determinedly, a look of sadness hiding in her eyes.

Nodding silently, he let her lead him through the town. The soon found the cafe, but no sign of the familiar face they were looking for. Sighing, Blake lowered his head. "Cam's not here." he muttered.

Tori walked off, hoping to find some answers, and Blake's left alone to sulk. It must have been about 20 minutes later, when he noticed she was gone and looked around, quickly growing worried. "Tori!" he cried.

There was no answer, and he took off into the town. Well, he tried to. Exiting the cafe, he noticed Hunter running up, glaring angrily at anyone in the way. He spotted Blake and ran over to him. "Where in Spira have you been?!" he cried as he grabbed the Navy Ranger's arm and began pulling him into the crowd.

"Huh?" came Blake's intelligent reply. He was caught off guard by the way Hunter was pulling him to the docks, and briefly wondered why he was taking him away from the city.

"Tori's been kidnapped by the Al Bhed Psyches!" he yelled over his shoulder as they approached the now abandoned docks.

_WHAT?! The Al Bhed Psyches? _

"If they're only blitzball players, I doubt they'll do anything drastic, but I'd rather not take any chances. Let's go get her!"

"I'm going too. We need to save her."

"They told Shane to throw the game, but I doubt he will." he was informed.

Blake sighed and shook his head. "As if they need too." _23 years without a win? Yeah, I doubt they need to throw a game!_

"That's what Shane said too. They're holding her in dock number 4. Let's go."

They ran down the docks, but were soon attacked by giant machine monsters. The strange things buzzed and moved jerkily as they approached, sparks flying from some of their joints.

"What the hell are these things?!" Blake cried, swinging at one of them, and catching it in one of the leg joints, effectively crippling the thing. Jumping back, Hunter used a thunder spell to finish it off.

"You have thunder powers, use them. These are ancient machina, salvaged by the Al Bhed. They are most vulnerable to lightning."

Smirking, Blake nodded and put his blade away, focusing his energies. "You know. One of these days, you'r gonna have to teach me some of those magics." he said as he blasted one of the machinas, bringing it down with one hit.

"You can use thunder magic, but not others? Hmmm...we'll see."

Raising an eyebrow, he shot the black mage a surprised glance before taking another machina down. He'd expected him to turn him down cold or insult him out right, not humor him or agree.

Soon enough, they were on the move again. They made it to the next dock, dock number 3, and were attacked again.

"What's up with these guys?"

Hunter snorted and fried them with a powerful thundara spell. "The Al Bhed were expecting us."

_No shit sherlock!_ Using his thunder powers, he noticed a larger monster approaching and built up more power, hoping it would make his attack more powerful. He felt the energy coursing through his body, burning him and making him tingle from the power of it. Unleashing it, he jumped in shock as a thick streak of lightning bolted down and blasted the large machina, blowing it literally, to pieces.

"Not bad. From a level one thunder spell to a level three thundaga spell." Hunter complimented. "You may have the makings for a powerful black mage."

Feeling drained, Blake nodded and gave him a weak smile as they ran on, silently wondering if this Hunter smoked something earlier. This was the first time he seemed to be warming up to him, and he wondered why.

Soon, they made it to the number 4 dock, just in time to see the boat leaving. Without uttering a word, Hunter raced towards it, Blake right behind him, and together, they jumped off the dock, just managing to land on the boat.

...and get attacked by a huge ass machina that was brought up from the belly of the ship.

"Not again!" Blake groaned as he grabbed his thunder staff. He felt a little vulnerable, seeing as how it was just him and Hunter fighting, but refused to give up none-the-less. Running forward, he did a flip and sliced the monster visciously, but it had little effect, showing that it was heavily armoured like that Sinspawn in kilika.

Hunter cast a thundara, which did a little damage, but was knocked down and given a nice gash across his stomach when the thing attacked back.

Quickly reaching into the pouch at his waist, Blake grabbed a vial he remembered being called a hi-potion, and threw it at the black mage's feet, making sure it smashed and watching briefly as the gash healed.

Nodding his thanks, Hunter frowned and cast another thundara on the machina, but the spell still had little effect. "We need to find another way!" he called.

Looking around the deck of the ship, Blake briefly noticed that it was familiar to him, and his vision blurred as he recalled the ship Dustin was on. They looked a lot alike, but somehow, it also seemed different. Shaking his head to clear it, he jumped out of the way of an attack, and noticed a small crane off to one side. "That!" he called, pointing to it. "We can use that crane!"

Without even waiting for a reply, he ran forward and hit the controls, trying to operate the machina. When it refused to move, he let out an irritated groan. "Come on, move!"

Hunter looked at him and then at the machina. "It's probably out of power." He raised his hand, nodding at Blake to get back, and fired a thundara spell at it.

He was just about to yell at the black mage for possibly damaging the crane, when he noticed it had lit up briefly and realized what he was doing. The thunder spells seemed to rejuvenate the lost power, and he ran towards the machina, attacking and distracting it as Hunter fired two more spells.

The crane lit up and began to hum and vibrate jerkily. The control panel lit up and Blake knew it was his chance. Running back over, he operated the controls and managed to grab the top of the monster, ripping the protective armor off it and throwing it over the edge of the boat.

"Now's are chance!" Hunter cried, casting another spell. This time, it had a much better effect and the machina began to spark and bob up and down jerkily as it shook a bit. "It's weakened!"

Running forward with his blade, Blake sliced along the legs and jumped back as another bolt hit it, decimating the machina and allowing both of them to rest.

The door at the opposite end of the deck opened, and Blake grabbed his blade, quickly putting it away when Tori came running out with a shakey smile, and Hunter raced over to hug her briefly.

"I hope you hurt them." he growled protectively as he looked her over, checking for wounds.

Nodding, Tori looked at Blake and her smile turned real, before she turned back to Hunter. "A little."

When Blake saw a beaten up guard just inside the open doorway, he walked over to him and noticed he was one of these Al Bhed. He didn't seem familiar, but it didn't shake the feeling of worry that was eating at him, as he hoped Dustin was ok.

"What is it?"

Turning around, he folded his arms across his chest as he looked at Tori who looked confused. "There were these Al Bhed that saved my life when I first came to Spira" he absently said. "They took me on board their ship, even gave me food. I was kinda hoping this was the same ship, but it's not. I wonder if they're all gone." Frowning, he shook his head to clear it of those thoughts.

Tilting her head slightly, Tori nodded. "What happened?"

"Sin came up near us. I made it out ok, but I don't know what happened to their ship."

Her eyes widened and her face paled a bit. "Um, was there anyone named Cid on that ship?"

Blake frowned slightly as he regarded her. There was a hint of worry in her voice that he couldn't place. "I don't know. They were all speaking that Al Bhed language."

"I see..." By the saddened tone in her voice, he could tell that it was the wrong answer. Not what she was looking for.

Pausing for a moment, he sighed silently and shook his head slightly. "So who's Cid?"

Looking into his eyes, Tori took a second to answer. "He's my uncle..." She paused and ducked her head and blushed. "But I've never actually met him."

Putting two and two together, Blake felt his eyes widen. "Wait. You're Al Bhed, Tori?" He realized how stupid a question like that was. The Tori of this world was Al Bhed, but the Tori he knew wasn't. He bit back the urge to groan and decided not to think about it, the technicalities were giving him a headache.

Raising an eyebrow, she gave him a look that spoke volumes before she answered. "On my mother's side, yes. Cid is my mother's brother. He became distant after my mother married, but she told me to seek him out if I should ever need any help."

"So, you're worried he was...?" He didn't want to finish that sentence, realizing that if she thought too much about it, it would obviously hurt her.

Hunter sighed and stepped into the conversation, speaking seriously, but not being as cold as normal. "Don't tell Shane about Tori's lineage. The thing about Shane...he never had much love for the Al Bhed."

Suddenly remembering the promise to throw the game, Blake felt his eyes widen and he stiffened up. "Whoa! We gotta tell Shane!"

Narrowing his eyes, Hunter glared at him venemously. "_What_ did I just say about that?" he hissed angrily.

"The game!" Tori cried, looking to a nearby monitor that showed Shane in the sphere.

The black mage's mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh!" Holding his hand to his chest, a fireball formed on his fingertips and he threw his arm up to the sky, where the fireball flew up and exploded much like a firecracker, making a large explosion of fire in the sky.

Tori ran back into the boat, heading to the control room, and a moment later, Hunter joined her, leaving Blake to watch the monitor and give a small smile when he saw Shane's head fly up and a smirk form on his face.

Turning to head in, Blake nodded to himself. _Good luck Shane. If anyone can pull off a miraculous win, it's you._

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Longer Chapter once again. I'm not going to go into the game, since it has nothing to do with Blake or Tori.

So Tori's half Al Bhed. Lothor's made his appearance. Wonder what's gonna happen next? Will they find Cam? Will it be the one they know? Stay tuned for the next chapter and you'll find out.

I hope you like this. Please R+R and let me know what you think. All reviews are welcome.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	9. Luca Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but the computer I am typing on. PRNS and FFX each belong to their respective owners.

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(After the Tournament, Blake's POV)

I was still shocked at Shane's words as we made our way to the stands. I never realized he was splitting his attention between the game and his duty as a Guardian, so his announcement of retirement was a complete surprise to me.

**Flashback**

"All right. I got something to tell you boys."

The Aurochs milled around, waiting to see what his message was. I was leaning against the far wall, listening as well, but not wanting to get in the way. Shane was a little beat up from the game, and had a sad smile on his face as he spoke.

"After this game...I'm retiring."

I almost fell over and thanked God I was leaning against the wall at that. Of all the things I thought he'd say, and with how much he loved the game, this was the last thing I'd expected him to say.

"I promised myself, this would be my last tournament. Win or lose, I'm quitting Blitzball. But you know, since we're here...we might as well win!"

The entire team cheered at that, and I allowed myself a chance to smile. Even going out, he kept his dignity.

**End Flashback**

Sitting down next to Tori, with Hunter on her other side, I watched as the game continued. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was like there were no rules to the game. You could use your hands, head, feet and body to catch, block or throw the ball, and I winced when Jassu took a particularly nasty hit to the chest as one of the opposing team tackled him.

"That...had to hurt." I mumbled, biting back another wince as Shane got kicked in the stomach.

Tori nodded. "It's always like this."

I was so lost, trying to understand the game, that when the buzzer tolled, I visibly jumped, blinking and feeling my face heat up when I turned my head to see Tori giggling at me. "Uhhh...How'd it go?" I asked nervously, scratching the back of my head with a chuckle.

"They won." she answered with a huge grin.

Bobba's voice was heard, confirming what she'd just said. "Unbelievable! The Aurochs win, folks! This is one for the record books!"

Looking back out to the pool, I noticed that the Aurochs were swimming away, and Shane was smiling as he headed out last. I smiled at him, recognizing the pride that radiated off him, but it soon turned to a frown as I jumped out of my seat. "What the...?"

Green fish, much like the ones I'd run into when I was at that ruined temple, were swimming around in the pool, and Shane had stopped, engaging them in battle. Well, he didn't have much of a choice. They barred his path out.

"What's happening?" Hunter asked as he pulled Tori close.

Looking around, I noticed a large number of fiends all over the place as people began to scream and run away. I saw large dragons like I'd never seen before. There were some metal monsters that I remembered as Elementals, like the kind we faced off against in Kilika. Large birds like the ones in Besaid. The stadium was overrun, and we ran out into a wide isle to fight them off.

We'd fought off a few, when I looked back to the sphere and noticed Shane was gone. I took that to be a good sign, that he'd gotten out.

When I'd turned back, the large bird we'd been fighting, was gone, thanks to Tori's Valefor. Feeling hot breath on the back of my neck, I turned around and stopped breathing as my eyes widened and my heart skipped a few beats. Right behind me, breathing down my neck, was a drake, as Hunter called it. A large, dragon monster with a thick hide, ferocious fangs, and a taste for human blood.

To say I was terrified would be an understatement!

"BLAKE!"

I heard Tori screaming my name, but was paralized with fear. Feeling someone grab my arm, I was pulled out of the way as the creature lunged at me, and fell backwards on the ground.

Shaking my head, I forced myself to breathe, my lungs begging for air. I saw Tori leaning over me, and looked up, offering her a shakey smile as I got to my feet, stumbling a bit because they felt like rubber. "I'm good. I'm good." I muttered absently as I focused on the fiend again.

"Some just can't _wait_ to die!" called an all too familiar voice.

I spun to my left, noticing a familiar figure come stalking through the crowd of fiends, dispatching them with ease. Short black hair, asian features and black eyes hidden behind sunglasses, baggy black pants and a thick, long, green overcoat with his left arm sitting in a sling-like fashion as the sleeve hung down losely. A giant broadsword rested on his right shoulder as he walked towards the monster, and a bottle of what I guessed was alcohol or something.

Then, with a flick of his left arm, that half of the jacket flew back to hang losely off his other shoulder and belt, and he grabbed his sword, settling down into a defensive stance and gripping the weapon tight in both hands. Running forward, he swung at the monster and it was cut down with one hit.

"Cam!" I cried, feeling relieved and uncertain now that he was here.

Shane gasped beside me. "Sir Cam!" he echoed, doing a bow of honour.

Turning in shock, I gaped at him. "So, you _do_ know him."

He nodded and offered an awed smile. "Best Guardian there ever was."

"Save it. We're not out of danger yet!" Cam called, looking over each of us. His gaze settled a little longer on Tori and me, and I felt myself frown, wondering what he was thinking.

We formed a small circle. Each taking out as many of the oncoming fiends as we could, but there were just too many. I got knocked back, landing against Cam who grunted quietly and pushed back, telling me to watch it.

I groaned as I took down another of the wolves that had run up. "Come on! Give me a break!"

Suddenly, Tori cried out. "Look!"

We all turned our attentions from the monsters to the seats where the Maesters sat. They'd all left but one.

Lothor.

He stared out over the crowd as he raised a hand, and a moment later, a gigantic creature burst out of the land to stand in front of him. Tori was beside me, so I heard her hiss out, "Anima."

Frowning, I regarded the Aeon, since I remembered what Tori had said about it before. It almost looked bird-like, only it didn't have a beak and had a row of sharp and deadly looking spikes going down the back of it's head and neck. It looked like it was made up of bones and bandages, and it's wings were folded by it's side, held from opening by chainst that bound it.

_This is the thing that sent Tori here?_ I was torn between being freaked out by how it looked, and feeling sorry for it, from the sense of gentleness that radiated from it. I actually found myself wondering how something so...monster-like, could be so gentle and kind. Despite the fact that I was beginning to understand this world a little, I couldn't get my questions to fade.

But seeing the Aeon also brought a question to mind that made me worry. If Lothor summoned Anima, did that mean he was a Summoner too?

Lights shot out of it's eye with no warning and begam hitting the monsters, taking them out quickly and easily. Within a moment, there were no fiends left and he dismissed the Aeon, giving a smile that bordered on evil.

This little event made me realize that this journey could be more fun than I thought.

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It must've been about two hours later. Everyone was meeting up by the stairs that led to the next destination, a place called Mi'ihen Highroad. Cam and I were still down a second set of stairs, seeing as he asked to speak to me before everyone left.

"So? What did you wanna talk to me about?" I asked, not knowing what else to say or ask.

Shaking his head, Cam leaned against a wall and looked at me. "To explain a few things. First of all, I'm not your Cam, but I do know all about you Blake."

I honestly wasn't sure how I should feel about that. "And how exactly does that work?" I questioned to myself. How could he not be from my world and know me anyways?

Giving a small chuckle he sighed. "There's a lot you don't know and a lot about me no one knows. Things will be explained in time, but for now, I can explain a few things. As I said, I'm not you're Cam, but the Aeons told me about you and how they brought you here to help Summoner Tori."

"First of all, I knew I was here to help Tori, but an Aeon brought me here?"

He nodded. "Ifrit himself brought you here. The creature who blasted you."

I remembered Tori mentioning getting Ifrit in Kilika. So _that's _what that was! I nodded for him to go on.

"The Aeons are tired of Sin returning every 10 years. They've brought you and Tori here to help find a way to defeat him once and for all. If you succeed, you'll both be sent him."

I frowned, not liking the implications of what he was saying. "And if we fail?"

"Tori will suffer the same fate as the rest of the Summoners who only temporarily defeated Sin, and you'll die with the rest of us."

Raising an eyebrow, I wondered how he could be so calm about talking about that. "The rest of us?"

"The Guardians. You, Shane, Hunter and me."

Giving a low growl, I was tired of people beating around the bush. "Ok, I understand that, but what fate will Tori suffer? All I know is that the Summoners who defeat Sin become High Summoners and no one ever seems to see them again."

"I can't tell you that. That's one of the things that needs to be answered with time." Frowning he looked towards the stadium. "I'm sure you noticed that one of our Maesters is an enemy you fought in your own world. Maester Lothor."

Crossing my own arms to resist the urge to grab my thunderblade and find that bastard, I nodded. "Yeah."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You don't trust this one." It was a cross between a question and a statement.

"I dunno what to think." I answered honestly, shaking my head a bit. "He could be good, but I have a bad feeling about him. He helped today, but the way he looked at Tor earlier..." Trailing off, I growled and clanched my fists tighter. "He was looking at her like prey."

"I see..." Sighing, he stood up straight, gesturing for me to follow him as he began heading up the stairs. "I'm going to offer my services as a Guardian to Tori. Come along."

_But...I thought I was supposed to stay here._ I thought in confusion as I followed him. Then it hit me that maybe he was sent to keep me with the group, so that I could help Tori.

We finally made it to the area where the others were, and I overheard some of their conversation.

Shane was looking out over the city as he spoke. "Do you think he's gonna stay here?"

"Sir Cam knows him, apparently. You were right, he did meet someone he knew." Hunter put in, in an emotionless tone.

_Barely. But they're right. To a point, he does know me. _I thought to myself as we slowly approached. I was feeling really stressed, knowing something bad was going to happen if we didn't come up with some way to permanently beat Sin, but I didn't know where to even begin looking or how long I had before the final battle came.

"In any case, I'll miss having him around." Shane put in sadly, still not looking in our direction.

Tori nodded, and I could feel her sadness. It made me want to run over and hold her tight, promising I'd always be by her side. "He's still in town, isn't he?" she asked as she began turning in our direction. "I think I'll go see him...Oh!"

Everyone turned to find us behind them, and hastily bowed in respect to Cam, as Tori looked at me with clear relief in her eyes.

"Whoa!" Shane gaped in shock, turning slightly pink for talking about us behind our backs and being caught at it, though he didn't say anything wrong.

Tori tilted her head a bit when she noticed Cam staring at her. "Sir Cam?"

I could tell she wanted to relax and call him Cam, but her act prevented it.

"Tori." he started.

She nodded. "Sir?"

Giving a subtle bow of respect, he straightened up and looked into her eyes. "I wish to become your Guardian. Do you accept?"

Raising an eyebrow, I bit my lip to keep from laughing. _Serious and abrupt. Out of all my friends from this world, he seems to be the one who stayed the same._ I was actually willing to bet, that if this world's Cam, and my Cam were to switch places, no one would be able to tell the difference. I wondered if this Cam also had a stick up his ass too.

Shane's jaw dropped at that. "You serious?"

Cam turned to him. "You refuse?"

Tori quickly moved forward, shaking her head. "No, no! Not at all! We accept! Right, everyone?" I could see the hopeful sparkle in her eyes as she looked at her Guardians who nodded in reply.

Shane closed his mouth and nodded. "O-Of course! No problem at all!"

"But...why?" Hunter asked, confusion written across his face.

"I promised Braska." he said simply.

Tori gasped sharply. "You promised my father? Thank you, Sir Cam! You're welcome to join us!" she cheered with a big smile.

Suddenly, Cam reached back blindly and grabbed my jacket, pulling me forward. "And he comes too."

I raised an eyebrow at him, but looked at the others, whom I remembered, mostly wanted to leave me behind. "Hi...guys." I said nervously, scratching the back of my head.

Cam spoke up again, making me narrow my eyes when I turned to look at him. "This one I promised the Fayth."

"The Fayth?" Hunter asked in shock.

Shane seemed to agree with him. "What do they gotta do with this?" He seemed to realize that it came out offensive, and his face paled. "I mean...I just don't understand ya."

"The Fayth sent him from another world to help Summoner Tori on her journey. To find a way to beat Sin permanently. The Aeon Ifrit sent him here personally." he explained.

Sighing, I lowered my head and shook it. If this was all it took, I would've told them earlier, but some part of me knew, they only believed him because he was a famous Guardian, and if I'd said anything earlier, they would've considered me as crazy.

"We don't have time for questions, but he stays." Cam insisted firmly.

The others nodded, and I looked up to see Tori looking at me questioningly.

If he got the message, he didn't show it, but Cam walked over to Hunter to begin talking, with Shane joining, them, and Tori came over to me.

"What's our itinerary? Where are we headed?" Cam asked our black mage.

Tori grabbed my hand lightly and tugged me after her. "Hey! Come with me!"

We walked over to a lamp post by the railing of the ledge we were standing on. Looking at me, she grinned triumphantly. "Watch!" she cheered. Putting her hands to her lips, she whistled loud, and I was surprised at how quickly she got it.

"You got pretty good." I mumbled absently, thinking back over everything that Cam had said both to me and to the others.

She leaned against me slightly, causing me to look at her. "You sound confused."

Shrugging slightly, I offered her a weak smile. "Maybe a little."

"Wanna scream?" she asked with a mischievious look on her eyes.

Shaking my head, there were too many people, and it just didn't feel like it would help this time. "Not really." Sighing, I crossed my arms and lowered my head. "I really don't think that's gonna help me this time."

I don't know if she got my message or not, but she gave a sad smile and turned back out to look at the people below. "You know what?"

I looked at her, giving her my undivided attention as she spoke.

"It's embarrassing for me to say this myself...but Summoners and their Guardians are kind of like Spira's ray of light. A lot of people in Spira depend on us. I learned to practice smiling when I was feeling sad, you know? I know, it's hard."

"Yeah, I understand...I think." Honestly? I understood it perfectly. It was the same thing as a Power Ranger. People depended on us and we were like their ray of light in dark times. We fought, putting our lives on the line to protect our world and the people on it. When times got tough, we forced ourselves to keep going, and to try and be bright about it. It _was_ hard, but that didn't stop us.

Giggling, Tori turned and looked at me. "Right. Now let's see what you can do!" she cheered.

Raising an eyebrow, I just stared at her. Had she lost her mind? "Huh? What?"

"Come on!" she giggled again.

_Yep. Girl's definitely lost her mind._ I thought sarcastically. I realized what she wanted me to do and forced myself to smile, feeling like a moron and knowing I must've looked stupid. "I feel weird." I whined as I let the mask drop, not being able to hold back a small smirk.

Nodding her head seriously, though she was smiling, Tori clapped her hands. "Next, try laughing our loud." she instructed.

_Laughing. Out. Loud._ Shaking my head, I looked at her a moment before turning out to look over the people below and belting out a fake laugh. I knew I was making an idiot of myself, but my stress built up and I couldn't make myself stop.

Tori was looking around and blushing deeply. "Ummm...You probably shouldn't laugh anymore." she muttered as she put a hand to her face, hiding it from view.

A second later, and she joined me in the fake laugh. Not long after, we both busted up laughing for real and had to hold onto the railing to keep from collapsing. We laughed so hard, I had to wipe tears out of my eyes, and Tori had tears streaming down her face as she panted for air.

"Too funny!" she cried as she wiped her face.

I looked at her and shook my head. "It was your idea!" I responded.

She gave me a soft smile that I noticed was hiding great sadness, and nodded. "Um, thanks Blake. I want my journey to be full of laughter."

Why did I get the feeling something really bad was going to happen? That she knew it was going to happen and was hiding it from me? "Okay." I answered simply.

She kept smiling as she looked into my eyes, and I felt myself getting lost in hers. "If we should get separated, just whistle. I'll come running. I promise."

I remembered making a similar promise to her earlier, and nodded with my own smile. "Well, let's go." Turning around, I noticed the others looking at us like we were strangers and I raised an eyebrow. "What're you looking at?"

"We were just worried you guys might've gone crazy!" Shane said with a shrug.

Tori ran up to them as I chuckled and followed her. "Sorry! Well then, alright. Now we will go to the temple of Djose. And Guardians? Don't forget to smile!"

_Yeah, this is gonna be interesting to say the least._ I thought as I followed them, shaking my head at the idiotic grin on Shane's face, the raised eyebrow on Hunter's, and the ever serious expression on Cam's.

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I hope you like this chapter.

I had to change a lot of the dialog to fit the new character and circumstances. So Cam's finally entered the picture, what's going to happen next? Lothor _saved_ people?! OMG!

Please R+R and let me know what you think.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	10. Mi'ihen Highroad Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything. PRNS I believe belongs to Disney, and FFX I think belongs to SquareEnix.

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(Mi'ihen Highroad.)

As we walked down the road, I took in the scenery around me. A long, almost flat plain in every direction, with seemingly endless fields of grass and flowers. The occassional bush, and what looked like remains of buildings dotted the land here and there.

Looking ahead of me, I noticed that it looked like the road would never end and found myself wondering how long it would take to get to the other side. A young woman stood by a chocobo on the side of the path, and I saw a man pay her money to ride one that she called for him.

Raising my eyebrow, I watched as it ran off down the road, the man bouncing on it's back, and winced as he fell off, landing on his face as the bird stopped nearby to wait for him.

_That's new._ I thought. Never would I have imagined that you could ride those things. Chocobo powered engines for boats, and to carry things, I guess I really should'nt have been surprised.

Suddenly, a medium sized, armoured fiend jumped out in front of us. It had giant claws, tiny legs, and almost looked like a rollie-pollie or something. Like if I curled it's head against it's ass, it would roll down the Highroad. Hmmm...fiend bowling. I had to shake my head to clear it and focus on the monster.

"Hah! That one looks slow!" I cheered, grabbing my blade.

Cam shook his head. "It's also tough. Let me handle this."

Shaking my own head, I took a step forward, honestly believing I could take it out myself. "No way! I got this!" Running forward, I slashed at the fiend, but my weapon barely even scratched it's armour, which made me frown as I jumped back. "What the...?"

Without another word, Cam ran forward, flinging off his jacket and used his two-handed sword to take the thing down in one hit.

I felt my jaw drop as he turned and walked back to us, his eyebrow raised as he looked at me.

Shane snickered from beside me. "Told ya. Sir Cam's the best!"

Feeling my face heat up, I looked at the ground as I strapped my blade to my back again. "Hmpf. I could've done that!" I muttered as we continued on.

We must've been walking for an hour at least, maybe more. I felt the sun shinging down and took off my jacket, tying it around my waist as I did so.

"Whoa. Weird bracelet." Shane mumbled, looking inquiringly at my morpher.

Remembering what Tori said, I paused, not knowing how to explain it. I could blame it on not remembering anything, but then how would I explain having it still? Maybe I could say it was important, but then he'd question how or why. Either way, I was aware of how much like Al Bhed technology it looked.

I must've paused too long, because Cam came over. "It's important to our journey Shane. There's no time to explain, but I'll tell you now it has powers like you've never seen before."

He frowned as he looked at it and his gaze became suspicious. "Looks like Al Bhed machina to me." he groused.

"In a way, it is." Cam agreed. "It is technology. But you won't be kicking him out of the group because of it. Besides, have you ever seen him use it?"

"Well, no, but-"

Cam cut him off with a raised hand. "I've already stated that it's important to this journey. Remember that Blake is from another world, so is this technology. It's not Al Bhed, so you can relax."

Hunter came over and looked at me curiously. "When you mentioned that you knew Zanarkand was destroyed, is it because of your being from another world?"

Pursing my lips, I looked at Tori who looked as lost as I felt. Sighing, I figured I might as well answer as many questions as I can. "Yes. In my world, we came across the ruins of Zanarkand, and went to explore it when we separated. I was attacked by Ifrit, who told me that the Summoner needed my help."

"We?" Hunter pressed lightly, tilting his head.

_Oh boy...here it comes._ I thought with dread. "Me and my friends."

Shane looked confused. "But you're here alone ya."

"I was the only one sent here." _Well...as _me_ anyways._ Sighing, I filled them in. "Shane, remember how I acted when we first met?"

"You acted like you knew me ya." he answered with a nod.

"That's because I do. On my world, there are different versions of all of you that I know. We're warriors who fight to protect our world from danger."

Cam nodded. "The Aeons told me as much. There are no Summoners, Guardians, pilgrimages, Sin or much in the way of what we know."

Hunter nodded, looking puzzled. "And his ability to use thunder magic? And just who am I in your world?"

Looking away, I fought back the tears that suddenly came to my eyes. "Hunter Bradley. My older, adopted brother." Nodding to myself, I looked back over to see pain in his eyes, and a strange understanding. I knew that he realized that all the time he was being cold to me, he was hurting me deeper than he intended.

Tori walked up. "You never answered about the magic." she put in, pain in her eyes as she kept up her act.

"Thunder is my element. I could learn others, but all my life, I was trained in it."

Cam sighed. "As much as I believe this conversation should continue, we are not safe here, and must continue on the pilgrimage."

Hesitantly, everyone agreed and we continued down the road. I often noticed Shane looking at me uncertainly, or Hunter shooting me apologetic glances, and Tori walked by my side. When no one was looking, she grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You were brave to talk about all that." she muttered quietly. "I wonder now if I should tell them the truth about myself too."

Shaking my head, I pointed briefly to Cam. "You should ask him. I'm pretty lost here."

Before we could continue talking, an older man came into view. He was bald headed and had pale blue eyes and very pale skin. Walking up to us, he pointed to what looked like a ruined building nearby. "Do you know what those ruins are from?"

Pausing, I looked at them closely a moment. "Some old city?"

He nodded. "A city most ancient. A terrible testiment to Sin's power. I tremble every time I see them. Compared to Sin, humans are mere mudpuppies."

"But I believe humans are the only ones capable of defeating Sin." Tori put in.

He sighed and let out a smile. "A good reply. I am relieved to hear you say that M'lady Summoner." He chuckled and shook his head. "Where are my manners? I am Zordon, a scholar."

I felt my eyes widen when he said that. Chancing a quick glance at Tori, I noticed her quickly concealing her shock. Everyone knew of the legendary Zordon who first brought the powers of Power Rangers to earth. From what I'd heard of him, he was dead. Killed to destroy evil in the universe, and free those under it's control.

Then again, it seemed anything was possible on this planet.

"At your service, M'lady. I am on a journey, studying the history of our world, Spira, seeking it's stories and secrets. My travels have taken me to many places, and I am troubled by what I have seen."

_You're not the only one pal._ I thought darkly. I thought we had it bad on earth, but we had a walk in the park considering this place.

"Fragile smiles on the faces of the people, crumbling at the emere mention of Sin. They are counting on you, M'lady. Give them a reason to rejoice once more."

She nodded. "I will."

We continued out journey with his blessings, and I kept thinking about everything that I'd witnessed, and wondered if this was just another world, or another dimension too. In our world, Zordon was dead. So how could he exist here?

Hearing a sound, I looked up to see three chocobos approaching with familiar figures on their backs. Biting my bottom lip, it was all I could do to keep from gasping out loud.

The blonde, who also seemed to be the leader, nodded to Tori first before looking at the rest of us. "Lady Summoner, I presume?"

"Yes. I am Tori." she replied with a nod in return, bowing slightly in prayor.

The blonde regarded her a moment before saluting her and smiling grimly. "I am Taylor, captain of the chocobo knights."

The second woman, who had shoulder length dark brown hair and a dark tan, smiled and nodded. "And I'm Alyssa." Pointing behind her to the man on the third chocobo, he nodded in greeting. "And that's Cole." Looking back at the group, she sighed. "We've been charged to guard the Highroad."

Taylor nodded and spoke up. "There have been reports of a large fiend appearing in this area, with a taste for chocobos. Do take care Summoner Tori, if you are to rent any chocobos."

"Thank you. I will be careful." she responded, giving another bow and prayor.

"Good. We should get back to our rounds. Farewell."

Alyssa nodded and joined her as they moved slowly passed the group. "Our prayors are with you."

Watching as they left, I turned to find the others moving ahead. We made it a little farther on, before we came across an older man and a young boy of maybe 13 years. They stopped walking and seemed to watch in shock as we approached, and I bit back a groan, realizing what was coming next.

"My Lady Summoner!" the man cried, doing a hasty bow to her.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I silently wondered how everyone knew what Tori was. Was it something to do with the presence she carried? Was it the number of people around her? No, that couldn't be it. If that were the case, then all Summoners would have multiple Guardians.

The young boy had short, light brown hair and brown eyes. "Are you a Summoner?" he asked in awe.

Nodding, Tori smiled as she bent down a bit to see him better. "Yes. My name is Tori."

"I'm Justin." the boy answered with a friendly smile. "Lady Tori, are you going to bring us the Calm?"

She nodded again. "Yes, very soon."

Again, I didn't like the sounds of all this. Was it really going to be _that_ soon? I hadn't even begun to think of a way to defeat that monster, Sin. I don't even know much about it, let alone what it's weak against, or how to beat it for good!

"We're looking forward to another Calm, my Lady Summoner." the man told her with a respectful bow and prayor.

Standing up straight, she took on a more determined pose. "I will do my best."

I knew she would. Recalling her words on the boat that day, I never doubted she'd give it her all, and I guess...part of me worried about that.

_I will defeat Sin. I _must_ defeat Sin!_

"And good luck to your Guardians as well." the older man put in before waving goodbye and leaving with his son.

I already had a good idea of what a Calm was, so I didn't even think to ask, but Hunter took one look at me and explained. His voice was low, but a lot warmer than I was used to, and for a moment, I could only stare in shock. "The Calm is a time of peace. It comes after a Summoner defeats Sin, and lasts until Sin reappears."

Tori turned back and spoke up then, adding to what was just said. "Sin dies and is reborn."

Taking that all in, I frowned and looked out over the massive fields, and what looked like a large building just a short ways away. "I get it! I thought it was weird. Tori's dad beat Sin ten years ago, right? But he's still here! Didn't really make much sense, but...wait. If it just comes back..."

Shaking her head quickly, Tori interrupted me fiercly. "_Don't_ say it isn't worth it...because it is!"

_I know. Even for a little while, people can sleep in their beds without being afraid. That kind of time is worth anything. Don't say it isn't worth it, because it is._ I knew in that moment, that no matter what happened, those words would always be burned into my soul.

We went up to the building, which turned out to be some kind of Inn. A Travel Agency, as the others called it. A place to rest and stock up on items and weapons, though I wouldn't trade in my thunder blade for all the money in the world.

"We rest here." Cam said, stopping beside the door.

Shane protested immediately, a deep frown on his face. "This is an Al Bhed shop!" he cried angrily.

Looking at the building, I wondered how he'd know that, but I guess, there were just ways to tell.

Raising an eyebrow, Cam regarded him coolly. "Is that a problem?"

"They don't believe in Yevon! And back in Luca, they...they kidnapped Tori!"

"And where were her Guardians?"

I knew there was no way Shane was going to convince him to leave, and the resigned look on his face told me, he'd given up trying.

Tori seemed to notice that too and walked over to him, speaking in a soft tone. "Sir Cam's just worried about your health."

Huffing, Shane shook his head determinedly. "I'm not tired one bit!"

"Well I am." Cam put in, turning his back on the others and walking inside.

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A few hours later, I came out from my room, exiting the agency.

"As if I could sleep." I muttered.

With everything that had happened, I wondered how _any_ of them could sleep! Thinking back over everything that I'd learned, I began to dislike this journey and wonder if there was a way to stop it. Sin dies, and is reborn. Summoners train to fight Sin, beating him for 10 years, and practically falling off the face of the earth. Tori's unusual sadness when talking about her journey. The way she said I might not be able to help her.

What did it all mean?

I was beginning to get an idea, and I was hoping to God I was wrong!

Blinking out of my thinking state, I looked up at the sky and paused. "Check it out!" I stated to myself as I took in the glowing sunset.

Whereas the sky was of similar colors that night, as they were back in Kilika during Tori's Sending, there was a huge difference in the moods. Kilika's sunset had been somber and forboding. This sunset, it was...peaceful, quiet, almost...gentle.

I noticed Tori sitting, facing the sunset, and seemingly occupied by something. Seeing as everyone else was either by the agency, or inside, I decided to walk over to her and spend some time with her.

Walking up to her, I called out, hoping not to scare her. "What'cha up to?"

She spun around, and smiled as she saw me. I sat beside her and we both turned to watch the sunset. "Pretty..." she said softly as she took in the sky.

I turned from it, leaving the bright colors and peaceful mood, to regard the beautiful woman beside me. The oranges and reds of the sky flooded over her, giving her an almost ethereal look, and taking my breath away. "Yeah." I said just as softly. "Sure is." Realizing I was staring at her, I turned back to the sunset quickly, feeling my face heat up.

"I wish I could live in a place like this. Peaceful...living with a smile on my face every day."

Hearing the wistfullness in her voice, I nodded, agreeing with her. "You can, once you beat Sin, right?"

"I...We'd go home." she said, but I heard the change in her tone, and knew something was up. I didn't want to push her to tell me about it, hoping she'd trust me enough to just come out and tell me herself. She shook her head, and I focused back on her. "But then, a new Sin would be born."

Again, my thoughts surfaced. "Then you can just beat it again." I was glad that this time I spoke them out loud. Maybe she would realize I didn't know, and would tell me what's going on. What's _really_ going on.

"I wish I could..." she trailed off and I noticed her eyes shining with tears.

"Hey, you can!" Shaking my head, I realized what I was saying. "Well, I'm here to help you find a way to beat him forever, but if worse comes to worse, and we fail..." Cam's earlier words came rushing back to me and I stopped cold.

_Tori will suffer the same fate as the rest of the Summoners who only temporarily defeated Sin, and you'll die with the rest of us._

Taking a deep breath, and fighting off my dread, I continued, changing what I was going to say. "Tori, why does Sin keep coming back?"

"Sin's our punishment for our vanity, and it won't go away until we've atoned."

"But how exactly do we do that? I mean, what'd we do in the first place that was so bad?"

Giving a soft giggle, she shook her head, and brushed her hair behind her ear. "It's funny. I never questioned it, but now that you ask, I really dunno. There's so much I just don't know."

I nodded. "That makes two of us." I murmured softly, looking out over the darker sky as the last rays of light faded. Getting back on track, I sighed. "Tori, just _how_ are we supposed to beat something like that. Back on earth, we'd have the other Rangers and our Zords, which would at least even the odds, but here? I'm the only Ranger, I doubt I can call my Zord, and...I mean, I just don't see how!"

She nodded to me, though her eyes never left the sky as the stars came out. "The Final Summoning. It's the only way to defeat Sin...that anyone knows of. With it, we can call the Final Aeon. That's the goal of the pilgrimage. The Fayth of the Final Summoning lies waiting in the far north, to greet the Summoners who complete their pilgrimage. At what's called 'the world's edge'...Zanarkand."

Frowning, I wondered if it was the same place that brought me here. If it was, was there a way back? A shortcut to avoid all this mess?

"She means the ruins of a city destroyed 1000 years ago."

Turning my head, I noticed Cam leaning against a road marker, obviously listening in to our conversation. Frowning, I wondered... "You sure it's ruins?" If the Fayth lay there, then it must've been more than that.

Tori nodded. "That's what I've heard."

"You'll see it for yourself soon enough." Cam said to me before turning his attention to our Summoner. "Tori, come back inside." With that, he left, leaving us to talk a bit longer.

"What do you think waits for us in Zanarkand?"

I paused and thought about it. "Honestly, I dunno. Maybe a way back, or maybe just the Final Aeon like you said."

She nodded and sighed. "I wish we could just go home, but we were sent here for a reason."

"I know." I muttered. To be honest, that's what I've been wishing since day one of coming here.

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This was probably a pretty boring chapter. Sorry about that. It does get better. More action and Blake/Tori for those who like it.

I hope you liked this chapter.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	11. Mi'ihen Highroad Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't ow anything.

**Note** : Thank you to those who reviewed. I'm glad you liked the fic. Wow, this is the fourth chapter I've uploaded in one day. LOL. There'll be referrance to a 'Command Center', and for all PR fans, it's not the one you're probably thinking about LOL. It's just a center of operations LOL.

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(Next Morning.)

I was tired as hell the next day when we got ready to leave. I didn't get much sleep, because I found myself spending most the night lost in thought. I couldn't help but wonder how the others were doing at home. Was the timeline here the same as the timeline there? Did the others even notice we were gone? How were they faring? Were they looking for us, or maybe they gave up?

Shaking my head, I told myself not to think like that. Hunter for one, would _never_ give up on me, and I was sure that Dustin and Shane would rather give up being Rangers than give up on Tori. But if she was here in spirit, inhabiting Summoner Tori's body, was her body still there?

There was so much I didn't understand, and I soon found myself getting a headache from thinking about it. I missed my friends and my bro, but at the moment, I was stuck here. Instead of focusing on the past, I should be focusing on how to beat Sin so Tor and I can go home.

Nodding to myself, I decided not to think about it, and just go on like I had been. I was about to leave the agency, guessing the others wewre outside, when I bumped into a man coming in. He had shoulder length blonde hair with brown streaks in it, and brown eyes. When I bumped into him, literally, I backed up a step and gave him a sheepish nod.

"Sorry about that." I said quietly.

He nodded with a friendly smile, showing me there was no harm done. "Byntuh sa." he replied.

I realized he was probably an Al Bhed, and shook my head. "Sorry." I repeated, not understanding what he had said.

He seemed to realize his mistake and understand me, which was a surprise, and chuckled. "Ah. Forgive me sir. I meant to say 'pardon me' but it came out in Al Bhed." he explained.

"Oh, you're an Al Bhed?" I asked curiously. It wasn't every day I met one that spoke english, or...Spiran, as I'd learned it was called.

He nodded, still smiling away. "I am Andros, the owner of this establishment. Hela du saad oui. It means 'nice to meet you'."

I grinned, and decided to try it. "Well, helly doo sad wee to you too."

Andros laughed, and I felt my face heating up, realizing I hadn't said it right. "You might want to be careful where you speak out language, but it's nice to meet someone who isn't an Al Bhed hater."

"Yeah, I hear Al Bhed aren't that well liked. Oh, sorry." I apologized, realizing what I'd just said, and how it might've come out.

Sighing, he lowered his head and nodded. "Ed ec y crysa. (It is a shame.)"

Raising an eyebrow, I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to figure out what he'd just said, but at that particular moment, a woman came running in, a look of pure terror in her eyes as she panted.

"Someone, help! The chocobos!"

Cam came running in, looking me dead in the eye. "That's our cue, let's go!"

I nodded and turned to leave, when Andros grabbed my arm. I turned back around, and he handed me to large vials of a yellowish white liquid. I remembered them, when Tori had taken a moment a while back to explain them. They were Mega-potions and would heal our entire party a lot.

"Thank you for your assistance. Please take these." he said with a nod.

Nodding my thanks, I put them in the pouch and turned, running outside and finding the others a short distance off, fighting a giant monster with extremely long arms and very sharp teeth that had a few yellow feathers stuck between them. Shuddering in disgust, I grabbed my blade and joined them.

"Need a hand?" I questioned with a glare at the fiend as I jumped forwrd, swinging at it's midsection.

Cam nodded to me before turning back to it. "It's called a Chocobo Eater."

_Why am I not surprised?_ I thought with a raised eyebrow as I dodged it's attack.

Hunter nodded. "It's weak against fire magic, but has a thick shell over it's body."

"In nother words, you and Cam are the best two for fighting it, with us acting as backups." I stated seriously as I jumped back again, swinging in counterattack and catching it in it's claw. When I saw the gash I'd caused, I nodded to myself, realizing it was a weak point, but not one that could help in this case.

Tori ran beside me and cast protect and haste on me. I felt my blood pump at the added speed and nodded my thanks, turning back to the monster in time to see it swinging for her.

"TOR!" I yelled, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her against me, out of the way of it's attack as I jabbed my blade into it's claw, making it pull back with a pained growl.

She leaned against me for a moment, casting a haste on Cam before she pulled away, looking at me with pink tinged cheeks and smiling. "Thanks." she said softly before running off.

To say this battle was tough would've been an understatement. Hunter got hit once while he was weak, and collapsed to the ground in an unmoving heap. I cried out, running over to him, and noticed Tori kneeling at his side in seconds, placing one of those golden feathers on his chest. A second later, and a golden light surrounded his body, and he jerked, raising up to take a jagged breath.

"Whoa!" I cried, jumping back, and swinging at a stray claw that came at me. _Ok, so that's a shocker!_ I thought to myself. I thought he was dead, but a _feather_ brought him back to life?

I felt a sharp pain in my back, and collapsed to my knees, gritting my teeth to keep from crying out. Forcing myself back to my feet, I spun around and ran at the monster, slicing at in the face, and jumping back to my starting point.

Turning my head, I noticed Tori run up to me and cast a cure spell on me, and a warmth spread through my body, making my pain fade in seconds.

"I used a phoenix down. He wasn't dead, just knocked out. Phoenix downs wake those up who were knocked out." she explained. Once she was done healing me, she gave me a light glare. "And you need to pay attention and be more careful." she scolded, but I could see the relief in her eyes that I was alright.

"Sorry." I said, nodding my head at her.

I saw the Chocobo Eater stumble back, staggering as it pulled it's feet under it and knew it was weak. I honestly wished I could morph, but I still didn't feel right about it, despite what Cam said about my powers being important for this mission.

Cam raced forward as Hunter threw a fira spell at it, and slashed it visciously, sending the fiend falling over the ledge I hadn't noticed we'd backed it onto. As I cautiously approached and looked over the edge, I noticed it laying unmoving on the path below, slowly fading away into pyreflies. "I guess we beat it." I muttered to myself as I turned and went back to the others, seeing Andros come out of the agency and walk up to us.

"Have you any interest in renting chocobos? As a token of our gratitude, the first time is free of charge." he said with a cheery attitude and friendly smile.

I had to force myself not to roll my eyes just then. _First time? As a token of your gratitude, any time we wanna ride a chocobo it should be free!_

The female attendant came rushing over with a huge smile on her face. "Thank you so much for saving the chocobos!" she cried as she bowed hastily and did a prayor.

We wasted no more time though. As much as Shane wanted to ride a chocobo, I wasn't too keen on the idea, not wanting to end up on either my face or my ass when I fell off, and I _knew_ I'd fall off!

We continued out on our travel, and it was late afternoon before we made it to a gateway that I guessed, led to the next path we were to take. Imagine my surprise to see Leanne and Kelly there, leading a cage that held a weird looking fiend in it.

"Kelly and Leanne reporting sir!" the energetic young redhead chirped as she held the reigns to the chocobo that was pulling the cage.

Leanne nodded to the guard at the gate. "This is the last of them."

The guard nodded and offered a small smile. "Good to have you with us. Go on through!"

They turned back to the cage, and must've seen us there. Kelly offered a bright smile and looked at Shane. "Teach me how to play blitzball sometime!" she called.

Leanne offered a slightly cocky smile as she nodded at us. "Wait around. We'll beat Sin in no time!"

They went through the gate, and I frowned, wondering what they meant by that. _I thought only Summoners could defeat Sin._ I thought to myself. But it really didn't make sense. If only Summoners could defeat Sin, then why was I here, and what did they mean?

We tried to follow them through the gate, but the guard stopped us, standing in our path and frowning. "I'm sorry, I can't let you pass. Hey, you're a Summoner and her Guardians, right? Sorry for the inconvenience."

Looking to the others, I noticed they looked upset, but none of them looked about to stand up and make him move aside either. As much as I wanted us to continue, the delay was also welcome. "Don't worry about it." I said as I turned to face him again.

He nodded and sighed, obviously relieved that we weren't going to start any trouble. "Thank you for understanding." he said.

Nodding, I turned to the group. "Well? What no-" I stopped abruptly, biting my bottom lip hard enough to drawn blood when I saw an unwanted figure heading in our direction. Curling my hands into fists, I crossed my arms over my chest to hide them, and glared at him and the two Guados with him as he approached.

The others turned to look as well, and all but Cam and I gave a hasty bow, doing the sign for the prayor. Glancing at Cam out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed him glaring slightly before his emotionless mask appeared once again. _So he hates him too?_ I wondered to myself.

"So we meet, Lady Tori." he said pleasantly, but again, the look in his eyes was that of a predator looking at his next meal.

She nodded hastily, and I could see the hatred in her eyes even though she tried to hide it. I noticed no one else seemed to notice it, and guessed it was from knowing _my_ Tori for so long. "Y-yes." she stammered.

I wasn't sure if she was stammering because she was afraid, or possibly nervous, or if it was because she hated him almost as much as me.

"You look troubled. Is there anything I can do?"

_Yeah. Go jump off a cliff. Or maybe you can let yourself get eaten by Sin._ I thought angrily as I glared at the oblivious man in front of me. I began counting the ways he could die a painful death and wondered if prayor would help at all. Or maybe I just needed to give him a hand, or two...around that scrawny, lying throat of his!

Yeah, I hate the bastard. Sue me!

She hesitated a moment before looking back to the guard that blocked the path. "Well..."

I felt my eyes widen. Was Tori actually going to ask him for help?! _Don't you _dare_ Tor!_ I growled in my head, silently willing her _not_ to say anything to him.

It turned out that her simple gaze made it so she didn't _need_ to ask. "I see..." he trailed off as he approached the guard who immediately stood at attention and saluted him as he approached.

I noticed Tori giving me a weak look and returned it, wishing I could help her, but not knowing how to even begin.

"Maester Lothor!" the guard cried in excitement, nodding and moving aside. "Allow me to show you to the command center! (not the one all the PR fans will probably think of LOL)"

Lothor nodded before elegantly, if it was possible for him, raising a hand. "Hold. I have a request." he said simply.

The guard nodded. "Yes, your Grace?"

He turned and looked at Tori a moment before turning back around. "I need to have Summoner Tori and her Guardians let through to the command center."

The guard stuttered. "But, your Grace-"

"I will take full responsibility." he cut the man off.

Hesitantly, the guard nodded. "Yes Maester. They may pass."

"Thank you." Tori said softly, keeping her face lowered to the ground, though I swear to god I could _feel_ the anger radiating from her body.

Lothor simply nodded before turning away and heading through the gate, his Guado following him through silently.

Hunter turned to Tori, raising an eyebrow, but not saying anything about her attitude. Instead, he chose to head off towards the gate, calling back to her over his shoulder. "Tori, let's go."

"Oh! Yes!" she cried, looking up from the ground in surprise.

I saw her look around, before her posture relaxed and a relieved look came to her eyes. Giving me a small smile, she ran after our black mage, leaving me and Shane to take up the rear.

"Who does he think he is?" I questioned myself angrily, noting how he used his power to get what he wanted. In this case, he helped us out, but still, it didn't make me hate the man any less.

Shane shook his head and briefly scowled at me for my comment, which I chose to ignore. "He's a Maester. Better get used to it, ya?"

_He may be a Maester, but it doesn't mean I have to like him._ I thought darkly to myself as we passed through the gate.

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I realize my chapters are longer or shorter. I am just going with chapter breaks. Sorry about that. There is still a LOT more to this story, so expect a LOT more chapters to come.

For those of you who read this and don't know Final Fantasy X. You can check out youtube for ideas of what's to come, and for those who don't, expect twists you probably didn't expect in this fic. Also, as you've probably noticed, there are a lot of guest appearances by former Rangers, and stuff, so expect more of those as well..

I really hope you like this story. I love writing it.

R+R please.

Thank you for staying with me and for encouraging me to continue. :)

Tenshi.


	12. Mushroom Rock Operation Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : As I'm sure you've noticed, I have a lot of 'part1, part 2's in here. Well, unless you want insanely long chapters LOL, it has to be done that way. Thank you for the reviews and comments, I really appreciate them.

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(Mushroom Rock Road, Normal POV)

When they got past the gate, the group found the two Guados waiting for them and were silently gestured to follow them. Not knowing what else to do at the moment, and wonder what was going on, they followed them up the path, to a side path that led to another type of elevator. Going up, they found themselves on top of a large cliff overlooking a lagoon below and walked along until they came to what they guessed was the command center.

"Whoa." Blake murmured, checking out the large cages and people milling around. For a moment, it almost looked like a party of some kind, people walking around in gourps, chatting together. Some were having drinks even, but the somber attitude of the area difused that idea right away. The looks were serious, many even afraid.

"What're they doing?" Tori asked from beside him as she watched in worry.

People were dressed in warriors outfits, carrying guns and swords, some practicing magics. In other areas of the cliffs, there were gigantic gun turrets, and further along the cliff they stood on, stood several huge tents with people swarming in and out.

Lothor stepped up to the majority of the people who instantly turned and found themselves staring at him. As he raised his hands, their chatter died down and silence overtook the area.

All of a sudden, their voices carried out as one, all saying the same thing. "All hail Maester Seymour!"

He nodded and gave them a pleasant smile as he raised his hands again to get their attention. "Brave Crusaders of Spira, protectors of all Spira." he began loudly, pitching his voice to carry through the entire area.

Raising an eyebrow, Blake looked around and guessed that all these people must've been Crusaders. He'd thought there were only a few, but there were easily 1000 people in the area.

"Believe in the path you have chosen, let faith be your strength! I, Lothor Watanabi, Maester of Yevon, will bare witness to your brave deeds today."

Everyone saluted and bowed. "Sir!" they chorused as they continued on with whatever they were doing.

Blake didn't like the looks of this. They were obviously preparing for something big, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that something was going to go horribly wrong.

Shane shook his head as he watched what was going on. A look of horrid fascination crossed his face and he scowled. "What's goin' on? Why's Maester Lothor backin' the Crusaders, eh? They're using the Al Bhed's machina! They're violating the teachings!"

Sadly, the Navy Ranger understood his questions. He was confused as to what was going on, but he didn't like it.

Tori seemed to agree. Though she was confused herself, she had a look of concern written across her face. Masking it, she turned to Shane to give him a sweet smile. "Even going against the teachings, they're willing to risk it for the greater good. Shane, I think Maester Lothor sees that too."

"Hunter?" Shane turned to the black mage, obviously hoping he's agree with him.

He shrugged and shook his head. "Hmmm...I can only speculate." he responded, but he was giving a suspicious glare towards the Maester. It was obvious he didn't trust the guy either.

Cam spoke up then, taking a step forward. "Why not ask him yourself?"

Everyone turned to find Lothor approaching the group and Blake couldn't help but wonder why he kept coming around. He knew it had something to do with Tori, but what?

"Ah, Sir Cam. It is an honour. I would be most interested in hearing what you've been doing in the past 10 years." he stated pleasantly, but Blake could hear that he was secretly implying something.

Cam snorted and openly glared at him for that. "I've nothing to say to you." he almost spat, before walking off towards the tents.

Blake took a step back at the venom he used in that statement and raised an eyebrow, wondering what _his_ problem was.

"I...see." Lothor stated with ill disguised contempt, and he turned to Tori as he masked his look into a much friendlier one. "Sir Cam must be a great asset to the group."

"Your Grace!" Tori said quickly, bowing her head and doing a prayor for him.

Part of Blake had a good feeling she was wishing for a very slow and painful death for him, but another part wondered if she was keeping up her acting and wishing him well.

Giving a slight chuckle, Lothor raised his hand and shook his head. "Please, there's no need for formalitites."

Shane took a few steps forward, and attempted to talk to the Maester, unconsciously showing just how uncomfortable he was. "Excuse me...Maester Lothor? Why is your Lordship presently...present here...Sir?"

Biting his lip, Blake had to struggle not to laugh at Shane's lame attempt at being formal. As far as he was concerned, the ex-blitzer was making a fool of himself. Chancing a glance at Hunter, he noticed the black mage felt the same way. If the way he slapped his forhead with his hand and shook his head was any indication.

"Please, speak as you normally would." Lothor said with a chuckle, shaking his own head.

Nodding, Shane bowed his head before trying again, more relaxed this time. "Isn't this operation against the teachings of Yevon? Aren't you gonna stop them?"

Sighing, Lothor looked over the battlements and shook his head. "It's true...I should. However...both the Crusaders and the Al Bhed truly wish peace for Spira. This Operation Mi'ihen was born from that wish they share. Although it may be sacrilege to Yevon, their intentions are pure. And I, Lothor Watanabi, the person, not the Maester...as a denizen of Spira, I wish them well in their endeavor."

Sadly, Blake believed he was right. Though he really hated the guy, and nothing would change that, he grudgingly admitted to himself he _did_ have a point. Why worry about sacrilege if it defeats Sin? If it brought eternal peace to Spira, Yevon would forgive them, he was sure.

"But using machina...that's bad, isn't it?"

_Always stubborn._ Blake thought to himself rolling his eyes at Shane. Here they were talking about a possible way to defeat Sin forever, and all he could think of was if it was bad or against the teachings of Yevon.

Lothor chuckled and shook his head, an almost evil gleam coming to his eyes. "Pretend you didn't see them." he said with a shrug.

Frowning, Blake eyed him carefully, noting that he was obviously hiding something. He knew he was right not to trust the guy, and was glad he stuck to his gut feelings.

Shane gasped, and Blake noticed Hunter's eyes widen before his glare hardened in place once again. "Beg your pardon, but that's not something a Maester should say." he scolded as politely as he could, frowning at the man in front of him.

Lothor only chuckled again. "Then pretend I didn't say it."

Turning my head, I noticed Tori glaring openly at him, but his head turned to hers and she lowered it to hide her expression.

Blake realized that a lot of people in the group he travelled in, didn't like or trust this guy. He wondered how anyone else could trust him.

As Lothor walked away, Shane shook his head and frowned at his retreating back. "You gotta be kidding me." he muttered, his face incredulous at what he'd just heard from a Maester of Yevon himself.

The group just stood at the top of the cliff. Cam was still gone, hidden between the massive tents. Shane and Hunter were standing a short ways away, talking to each other, and Tori was at the edge of the cliff, with Blake not too far behind her. Despite that he knew she could use her alone time, he didn't trust Lothor and didn't want her to get too far away from him, seeing as how he didn't know what he was capable of.

Suddenly, Cole came rushing up. His wavy black hair blew around his face, and his deep brown eyes shone with excitement as he ran right up to Tori. "Excuse me, Lady Summoner Tori?" he asked as he panted for breath.

She turned to him and smiled. "Yes?"

He pointed behind him to the tents. "The Command center...Maester Lothor requests your presence there ma'am."

Nodding, she turned and walked up to Blake. "Thank you."

He nodded back before leaving, and the group, minus Cam who was already there, walked over to it, stopping near a large cannon-type machina. Shane walked over to it and glared, kicking it and then hopping around holding his foot. "Curse these...!" he muttered before he hissed and limped over to another one and glared at it.

Blake turned to Tori and Hunter, and sighed. "He really hates them, huh?"

Hunter sighed as well and turned to him, an almost sympathetic look crossing his face. "Porter...Shane gave him a sword to use if Sin ever came near him, but he left it behind, chosing instead to use an Al Bhed machina weapon."

"That's got nothin' to do with it!" Shane said as he walked over. "I just hate these sacrilegious contraptions!"

They looked over the edge of a cliff, to where the large cages were lowered and people buzzed actively. The cages were brought together, attached to one much larger cage, and the monsters inside were released and packed together.

"It won't work anyway." Shane put in with a frown.

Tori turned to him and glared openly. "Don't say that!" she cried. Lowering her eyes, she sighed. "It might be a hopeless campaign, and it might mean defying Yevon...But the Crusaders and the Al Bhed, They're doing their best to defeat Sin! They want to rid Spira of Sin forever. And that's just what we want too, isn't it?" she turned and looked him in the eye, strengthening her voice. "Isn't it?"

Smiling, Blake looked at her and nodded. She was right. He believed this all along. Sacrilegious or not, they were working together for a brighter future. A future without Sin, and if he were in their place, he'd be doing the same thing with no second thoughts what-so-ever. Yevon's prayors brought us a temporary respite from Sin, and it was time people began thinking outside the box.

Feeling his eyes widen, he realized that might be the key. If this didn't work, it was still up to them, but they were doing things wrong! They were following in the exact footsteps of the Summoners before and would end up suffering the same fate. To beat Sin permanently, they had to do the unexpected!

"Hmph!"

Turning his head, Blake broke out of his thoughts to see Shane scowling at the ground. "All right, all right! But I still think machina are bad news! They're forbidden for a reason!" he insisted firmly.

Taylor gave a call and came running over with a smile. Stopping a few feet short of our group, she saluted and nodded. "Lady Summoner! There you are!" she cried. Pointing behind her, she turned and looked over her shoulder. "The command center is that way. Maester Kinoc is there too."

"Maester Kinoc too?" Tori asked with wide eyes.

Blake looked at her in confusion, wondering who this 'Kinoc' guy was.

Taylor nodded. "Yes. Please hurry M'lady."

The group headed to the tents, separated from the rest of the place by a small gate, which an all too familiar presence was guarding listlessly. As they approached, the young woman looked up almost angrily and sighed.

"The operation will begin shortly. Please check all your weapons." she stated in an emotionless voice.

Shane tilted his head and frowned in concern. "Um, you all right?"

She glared openly and shook her head. "Of course not! I came here to fight Sin, but they stick me here!" she cried as she slumped against the wall of the gate.

Cam came out from the area, looking at her a moment. "If you want to prove yourself..."

She looked up, a hopeful spark coming to her eyes. "Huh?"

"...First you must complete the tasks you are given." he finished seriously before looking at the rest of the group, nodding and walking back in.

The group walked passed her and Blake shook his head. "Poor Kelly." he muttered to himself as they entered the enclave, and they noticed immediately an older, bald man with fair skin. He got up from the table he was sitting at, and strolled over to them with a smile on his face. Going straight to Cam, he reached out and tried to hug him, but he stepped back and glowered at the Maester.

"I'd heard from Lothor, but I didn't know if we'd actually meet. Good to see you Cameron! Ten years, is it?" he spoke casually, a huge, friendly grin on his face, but Blake sensed something about this man he didn't trust either, and he wondered if _any_ of these so called Maesters were trustworthy people.

Hunter stepped over to Blake, and whispered so only he'd hear him. "That's Wen Kinoc, one of the four Maesters of Yevon. He leads the warrior monks and also commands the Crusaders."

Kelly came running in, a brighter look on her face as she approached the Maester and saluted. "All troops ready to move at your command, Sir!" she reported.

He nodded. "Good. Dismissed."

The light faded a bit from her eyes and she nodded, running back to her post.

"Tell me Cameron, where have you been these past 10 years?" he asked with a smile, turning back to his old friend.

Cam shook his head and looked away, acting bored. "We don't have time for this now, do we?"

Kinoc sighed and looked out over the waters below. "This plan won't work and you know it. We'll just let them dream a little longer."

"What?" Blake cried, looking at him in horror. He'd just admitted he knew this was a suicide mission and that he was going to let probably close to 1000 people get themselves killed for what...the fun of it?

"Lord Kinoc..." Lothor's voice sounded from just beyond the gate.

He nodded and responded. "Oh, yes. Proceed!" he called.

Cam seemed to be grumbling to himself. "That Kinoc, a Maester?"

He turned and glared at Cam. "I heard that. A lot has happened in the past 10 years. What were you doing, and where?"

"Fulfilling a promise I made to a friend. I still am." he answered simply with a shrug.

"Just tell me one thing. Have you seen Zanarkand?"

Cam grunted and shook his head, turning away and not bothering to answer.

Tori came up beside Blake, looking confused and worried. "I kinda...think we don't belong here." she almost whispered.

He nodded in agreement. The last thing he wanted, was to ever have anything to do with the suicides of 1000 people, but there they were. If they were going to be there, what were they going to do?

"It is time to start at last." A guard called as the group approached the gate. "We must tell the Al Bhed waiting outside, to start the operation at once. The fiends may break through."

Blake really didn't like the sounds of that! If there was a chance the fiends could escape and attack the people, then why bother taking that risk?

"This place is not safe."

_No shit sherlock._ he thought to himself. _With the Maesters here, no one's safe!_

"Make sure you're prepared to defend yourselves."

_Always._ Blake thought darkly, glaring at the back of Maester Kinoc. He knew something was up, and made sure he was ready for a fight. To his side, he noticed Shane grab his blitzball and Tori grab her staff, as Hunter let a few sparks of lightning flash in his hands.

Nodding to the guard to signal they were ready, the man turned and called to Kinoc. "Maester Kinoc. Please."

Walking to the jutting edge of the cliff, he waiting until everyone was looking his way before giving the go ahead signal and leaving.

Tori looked at Blake worriedly, and he returned the stare with a similar one, sure that they were both feeling the tension in the air. "Will Sin come?" she asked quietly, looking around to see people running around, and her Guardians standing around her with the guard from the gate.

"Sin always returns for it's spawn. To make sure, we're going to encourage them to call out for it."

Cam shook his head. "You won't need to." was all he said before turning to look out over the water.

They watched as the giant cage below sat in the sand and several people approached with long staffs with electric ends on them, sticking them into the cage. Everyone heard the pained growls and screams coming from the cage, and before anyone knew how it happened, the door swung open and the monster jumped out. Jumping to the top of the cliff, it stared at their group before slithering forward and attacking.

"What the hell?" Blake cried as he grabbed his blade and attacked one of the arms.

The fiend looked like a giant centipede with two shelled arms on it. It turned out, the Sinspawn that were in the smaller cages, somehow mutated together to produce a much larger Sinspawn.

Shane attacked the stomach with his blitzball, but the arms folded over, protecting it from damage.

Cam nodded and stepped forward. "Shane, aim for it's head. It can spit poison at us! Hunter you'll assist him with your black magic, and Tori will stay back for healing. Blake and I will take care of the arms!" He sent out the orders like a seasoned pro.

Looking at him and raising an eyeborw, Blake stopped a moment. "We will?" he asked. Seeing the look he got, he shrugged and grabbed his staff. Sunning forward, he swung the blade in a circle, hitting the arm twice, and them jumped to kick it before running back. Cam ran forward with his own sword and attacked the other arm, slicing it heavily with his broadsword.

Shane threw his ball, stunning the monster for a moment with a hit to the head, and Hunter took his chance to use Thunara to hit it good.

Tori stayed back as she was ordered, casting protect, shell and haste on the group, and waiting until she was needed to heal.

Cam and Blake exchanged looks and nodded, running forward at the same time to attack the arms again and finish them off, watching as they disappeared into pyreflies. There was a loud crash above Blake's head and he jumped back a ways, catching that Hunter had used thundara on the head again, and watching as Shane used his blitzball to hit it, strangely, making the head turn from a vibrant red to a dull grey.

"Now! Tori, Summon Valefor!" Cam called as he backed away.

Following his lead, the others fell back behind her as she summoned her Aeon and sent it to attack the now vulnerable body. A few hits of Valefor's sharp claws, and the Sinspawn fell on it's side, not fading away, but not moving either.

"SIN!" someone screamed.

They turned their attention and noticed Taylor speaking into a microphone. "Let's go!" she called, and the machinas all activated. The smaller cannons began firing on the large scaled hide of the fiend as it approached, still underwter, but for it's fin, and down on the beach, what looked like 100 chochobo riding fighters raced forward to battle the Sinscales that flew from it's body.

A giant cannon activated and seemed to be storing up energy. They saw a giant light blue barrier form around Sin as the cannon fired, and Cam turned to the others. "LOOK OUT!" he screamed, justing to the side as the others all scattered at his words, just in time to avoid being vaporized as a blast hit the cliff where they'd just been standing.

The shockwave from the blast hit everyone and knocked them all out, but for Blake and Hunter who were knocked off the cliff with a scream.

Blake saw the ground approaching. Harsh warm sand, and bodies by the dozens, some Sinscales, some human, littered the area. Before he had a chance to scream again, he hit the ground hard, as sharp pain overwhelmed him, and he fell into the blissful darkness.

**Dream**

(Blake's POV)

When I opened my eyes, I noticed I was surrounded in darkness. Moving slowly, I strangely felt light, as if I was lying on air instead of ground. Slowly standing, the darkness faded a bit, and I noticed myself standing in a large field of purple and blue flowers. Waterfalls so tall that they rivaled sky scrapers, stood here and there at the edges of the field, clear water pouring down into misty pools below. Outside of all this, I couldn't help but notice it was pitch black, and wondered where I was.

"Welcome to the Farplane." a gentle feminine voice called out from behind me.

Turning around, I noticed a young woman with shoulder length borwn hair and bi-colored eyes, one green and one blue, looking at me with a smile. By her side stood a young man with shaggy blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

Then, what she just said, hit me.

"Farplane?!" I cried, remembering what I was told about it being a place the dead resided. "Oh no! No way! I _can't_ be dead!" I yelled, looking around wildly.

"Relax!" came the carefree voice of the man, a hint of irritation lying in his tone. "You're not dead."

The woman shook her head. "No. We called you here to speak with you. My name is Yuna, and this is my husband, Tidus."

Relaxing a little, I turned to face them. "I'm Blake." I said, watching them warily.

"We know." Yuna said with a smile. "We're the ones who sent for you."

"But..." I frowned as I thought about that. "The Aeons sent for me." Shaking my head, I corrected myself. "The Fayth sent for me, the Aeons brought me here."

Tidus scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish look. "Uhh yeah, about that. Sorry I hit you so hard." he mumbled quietly, as Yuna giggled.

_Hit...me...?_ I felt my eyes widen as I realized what they were saying. "Then...if you're the one who hit me, you're..."

"Fayth." Yuna answered. "Yes. I am the Fayth of Valefor, and Tidus is the Fayth of Ifrit." Sighing, she lowered her head. "We're so tired of fighting Sin every 10 years. Summoners travel to get the Final Aeon and summon it, but at the end of the battle, it turns on them every time and-"

"It's not time." Tidus interrupted her. "He needs to find out on his own."

Her eyes widened as I felt mine narrow. "What're you hiding?" I questioned suspiciously. "If Tori's in danger, I wanna know what you're hiding!"

Yuna's worried look transformed into a smile. "Don't worry. We heard your thoughts before, and know you've figured out what you need to do. You're right, following Yevon won't help you. As you said, you have to think outside the box. The secret lies there."

"In other words, you brought me here to tell me a riddle." I said irritably as I sighed. "And what about the others? I'm here having a nice chat with you, and the others are fighting Sin!"

Tidus sighed and shook his head, rolling his eyes, and Yuna nudged him. "I guess, if you must see it that way. I believed we were confirming a guess you had, giving you a chance to find a starting point to help Tori." she said brightly, though a mild anger laid in her eyes.

Opening his mouth, he realized they were right and sighed as he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

**End Dream**

(Normal POV)

As he opened his eyes again, he became aware of feeling like he was lying down, and a warm, salty breeze blew through the air. The sounds of fighting, screaming, crying and inhuman growls, reached his ears, and he blinked to focus, finding himself lying next to an unconscious Hunter.

"No." he croaked hoarsely as he crawled over to the unmoving black mage and checked his pulse. It was there, but it was weak, and he reached into his pouch to use a phoenix down on him, praying for him to be alright, and hoping to God Tori was safe.

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Yuna and Tidus are original characters from FFX. JuseaPeterson asked me about where they were, and this idea came to me. Thank you for helping me to think of it.

There was more to this chapter, but if I left it all in one, again, it would be insanely long, so I'm splitting it into two chapters.

I hope you liked this. Please R+R and let me know.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	13. Mushroom Rock Operation Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

**Note** : I realize this story's really long. LOL. Sorry about that. I didn't realize when I began, but now I can't stop! LOL

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(Up on the Cliff, Tori's POV)

When I finally came too, I had a headache the size of Blue Bay! "Ow." I muttered in a careful whisper, remembering I wasn't at home. "Anyone get the number of the zord that ran me over?"

Shaking my head, I slowly stood up, noticing that I didn't see Shane, Hunter or Blake at all. The lack of the latter person was what really made me worry!

"Blake?" I whispered, my voice all but useless as a mindnumbing fear froze my body. _Oh God no! _I couldn't stand the thought that Blake might be hurt, or...worse. I shook my head again, determined to drive the thought and image out of my head before I screamed. I knew he had to be alright. He just _had _to be!

...I needed him.

Hearing a loud roar, I turned my head, and felt my eyes widen as I saw Lothor fighting the Sinspawn I'd thought we'd beaten earlier. Feeling my eyes narrow, I smirked darkly at him. _Good. Hope it eats you!_ I thought nastily.

Of course, I wanted to smack Cam when he ran over to help him, and sighed, deciding I'd better do the same. I knew I couldn't trust this Lothor, the Aeons told me so when they brought me here, but between him and the monster, I think that for now, I'll help him and destroy it.

When I reached their side, I noticed Cam favoring his left side and immediately cast a cure on him.

"Stand back, Lady Tori." Lothor said as he cast a blizzaga spell on the fiend, hitting both of it's arms.

Glaring at him, I sneered. _Gonna make me?_ I thought to myself. I seriously wanted to stand _very_ far back and let the Sinspawn eat him, but as part of my act, I had to act naive and innocent. "Y-yes." I purposely stuttered.

Cam shot me a look that told me to keep acting, making me wonder if he knew about me as well, before he ran forward to slice at the vulnerable body. Casting haste on him, I paused a second before sighing silently and reluctantly casting the same spell on Lothor, but unknown to him, I also cast protect on my friend and Guardian, and not him.

He cast another blizzaga spell on the head and took it out too, leaving only the body left. That, Cam finished off with a viscious attack, and triumphant glare as the monster collapsed again and this time faded to pyreflies.

I didn't wait another moment, but strapped my staff to my back and ran to the edge of the cliff, looking for any sign of the others. I felt a presence beside me and turned to find Cam standing there as well, his eyes trained on Sin as it retreated, leaving mostly dead warriors behind him. "The others?" I questioned, only to recieve a shake of his head. Obviously, he didn't know either.

That's when my attention was caught by something below, and I noticed it was Blake, moving to Hunter's side as the black mage lay unconscious. I felt my heart lighten with relief before constricting with pain. Even if it wasn't _our_ Hunter, I knew he'd be in a lot of pain to see him like that.

Looking doen the other side of the beach, I noticed Shane moving sluggishly, and felt anger bubbling up in my veins. This...all this because of Sin. All this because the _Maesters_ didn't warn them, because they _said_ they believed in them when they knew better.

"Everyone, stand back! I'll Summon!" I called, cupping my hands around my mouth. I grabbed my staff and took a step back, beginning the summoning for Valefor, when Lothor's voice carried to me, making me stop cold.

"You won't hurt it. Your powers are still too...weak." he hesitated and it almost seemed like he was trying to find a nice way to say it, but it didn't make me trust him.

Shaking my head, I growled. "I must do something!" I yelled, keeping my act up, though I was strugglnig not to summon Valefor to throw him off the cliff.

"You can't!" he yelled, anger and worry clear in his voice.

Focusing on Sin, I noticed it was already gone and sighed as I put my staff away. I felt hot tears in my eyes and blinked to hold them back, wishing there was _something_ I could do for all those who died today.

Looking back down to the beach, I lowered my face and brushed away stray tears as I noticed my three other companions together and moving. They were all right. There were no words to explain the relief and happiness I felt so see them all right.

(Down on the Beach, Blake's POV)

We'd reunited. I was so happy to see that Tori and the others were all right. When I looked at her, I noticed her eyes were red, but when she looked at me, I saw her smile and a sense of relief come over her. I'd found out that Sin had killed nearly everyone there that day, and felt sick to my stomach as I took in the mutilated and cold bodies lying all around us.

Poor Tori. I saw the grief on her face as she stood in the center of the beach and began dancing. Another Sending. I hated this. As beautiful as she was, as ethereal and powerful as she seemed, I didn't want to watch, but at the same time, I couldn't tear my eyes away. I guess you could say I was stuck watching due to horrified fascination. I kept wondering how something so graceful and beautiful could be so sad, but I knew. It was because it was a dance solely for the dead.

_How many people died today? People die, and Tori dances. When will she stop dancing? When will it stop? Tori...won't stop dancing. Not until Sin is gone for good._ I thought to myself as I watched her in a trance. Her beautiful shoulder length blonde hair fanned around her face as she spun, her eyes closed, but tears leaking down her cheeks.

"I see you're still here." called a voice from behind me.

Turning around, I noticed Cam looking at me and frowned. "Huh?"

"Many lives...many stories, ended here today, but yours goes on I see."

I felt my frown deepen and wondered why he was always speaking in riddles. "What?" Honestly, part of me didn't _want_ to get what he was saying, but another part was curious. I know the saying 'curiosity killed the cat', but I couldn't help it really.

Suddenly, Kinoc and Lothor came over, and Cam turned to scowl at them. "A swift retreat, satisfied?"

Kinoc looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Those who turned from Yevon died while the faithful still live on."

Sighing, the Maester looked down sadly. "The past 10 years have changed you, I see."

I wondered how they knew each other, but again, I felt it was something I probably didn't want to know.

I walked over to Tori, now that she had finished that horrible dance, aware that Lothor was following me to talk to her, and stood by her side.

"You do not look so well." he stated in concern as she exhaustedly pushed her hair out of her face and turned to look out over the water. "But now, more than ever, you must be the people's strength, their confidence. Anyone else would be expected to show their sorrow, but you...are a Summoner. You are Spira's hope. Until Sin is defeated, you must not relent, do you understand?"

I understood. Something was telling me there was more to this than met the eyes. That he wanted something more. She 'did not look so well' because of everything she'd gone through, and he was pushing her to move faster and work harder.

"I understand." she said softly, still not facing him.

"Are you afraid?" he questioned

_No shit she's afraid! We all are!_ I thought angrily as I watched her galre into the water. I knew there was no doubt she hated him as much as me, and no doubt his words were angering her, but she was resolved not to show it.

"Tori, take me as your pillar of strength. As Lady Victoria had her Lord Bradley. Lady Tori. Until we meet again, farewell."

I watched as he bowed and left, seeing as Tori turned around with tears sparkling in her eyes. Looking to the ground, I thought about what he just said. He was asking her to use him as her pillar of srength. I think, a big part of me didn't want to understand what he was asking. It sounded like...he was expressing a liking for her, and it both scared and disgusted me.

We continued on our travels, heading up a road to where a young woman was taking care of wounded crusaders. She saw us and came running over.

"Are you injured? I'll help in any way I can." she said hurriedly as she cast cures on our group.

Tori nodded to her and offered her a smile. "My thanks."

She smiled back, and pushed her long blonde hair out of her face as her brown eyes sparkled. "I'm Ashley. A low level white mage, and I'm here to help those who survived. They may have gone against the teachings of Yevon, but their hearts were pure and they only wanted to help."

We nodded back as she continued on, healing other people. We travelled up an almost barren land until I straggled behind, Hunter slowing to walk beside me.

Tori turned back and smiled at us, calling out cheerfully, "Hurry up you two!" before she turned around and kept going.

Raising an eyebrow, I shook my head. "She sure is happy." I stated.

Hunter nodded. "She must be. In dark times, she must shine bright, and these are dark times. Tori tried hard to be as happy as she can, to bring smiles to people's faces."

"We should help her then." I stated, not really knowing why or how we could help.

He chuckled and shook his head. "If we worry, she'll try harder. Don't worry."

Biting back a laugh, I looked at him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Don't worry, be happy, right?"

He nodded before walking ahead to catch up with the others.

Frowning to myself, I followed his lead, thinking to myself all the while. _How can I not worry when the woman I love is going through this torture, and I still have no idea what's coming next?_

Soon, we made it to a crossroads, where the group met up together and relaxed a moment before continuing on.

"How long until we reach Zanarkand?" I asked. I didn't know anything about pilgrimages, but this one had gone on longer than I would've liked, and part of me wished it would be over already. I thought back to when Yuna and Tidus told me I was right about thinking about outside the box, and wondered where to begin with that.

_**Don't worry, soon you will have help.**_ came the same voice from before, but only now did I recognize it. Each time I heard the voice, it was always the same, and now I knew why. It ws Tidus talking to me, or Ifrit as he was known as in Aeons form.

At least it was a comfort to me. I wouldn't be on my own in this, but I would have help. I just hoped it was enough.

Shane turned to me. "Still a ways, ya."

Hunter nodded. "First down the Moonflow, to the Guado city of Guadosalam...Then we cross the Thunder Plains to the temple of Macalania."

_In other words...a _hell_ of a long time yet, then._ I thought as I fought not to roll my eyes. "Oh, boy." I muttered quietly.

Tori just giggled and nodded, pointing to the second path. "And before that, we get to pray at the temple of Djose!" she cheered in a sing song voice.

"We can't just...skip all that, can we?" I asked, almost hopeful the answer would be yes.

Turning serious. Tori shook her head. "I have to pray to the Fayth in every temple in order to earn the Final Aeon."

"That's a Summoner's traning. She's gotta prepare body and mind, all just to get ready for the Final Summoning." Shane put in.

"Must be tough, Tori." I said, looking at her in worry.

She just smiled warmly and shook her head. "I'll be fine with you here." she said.

Then why was it, I felt like she was lying through her teeth? Why was I terrified to finish this journey?

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Again, a shorter chapter. I hope you like this.

Meeting Ashley was an optional thing I did, so it's just a short scene, but yeah, hope you liked it anyways.

Thank you everyone:)

R+R please!

Tenshi


	14. Djose

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I realize now that Kimberly has brown hair, but I already had it put down as blonde, so I'm going to keep it on that for continuity in the fic.

I was asked about Kinoc. Like Mika, Kinoc is an original character from the game. I could've used a Ranger or a villain, but for reasons I won't go into, for the sake of the game, I chose to leave them alone. You'll find in future chapters, that I did the same for the Ronso, and another Maester.

If you have questions, feel free to ask, and I will answer what I can, without giving away too much of the story.

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(Djose)

When we entered the pathway to Djose temple, I noticed a bridge that went over a flowing creek. As we approached it, Taylor came riding up on her chocobo, a huge smile on her face, while Alyssa followed her lead, and poor Cole was left to run after them. It seemed he didn't have a chocobo.

"Lady Tori. It is good to see you and your companions well." the blonde leader of the group nodded, keeping her smile.

Tori nodded. "And yourselves as well, captain. We were worried. Praise be to Yevon." she did a prayor and smiled.

"We escaped with our lives, but our troops were decimated." Taylor informed them.

Alyssa nodded. "Of all our chocobos, only these two survived."

"We make pretty poor chocobo knights, with only two chocobos!" Cole whined.

Sighing, Taylor shook her head. "We turned our backs on the teachings. This...is our just reward." she said sadly.

With that, they bid farewell, riding their chocobos off and leaving poor Cole to chase after them. I felt bad for the guy, but at the same time, was fighting not to laugh at him. He did look pretty funny, chasing after them and whining for them to slow down.

Going past the bridges, we noticed a large building with rocks held together almost seamlessly over the outside of it. I could feel the power it radiated, and blinked a few times, before turning to look at Tori.

"Is that the Djose Temple?" I asked quietly, watching as an Al Bhed walked into a nearby store.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble, and I looked back to see the rocks breaking apart and moving away from the building to float around it, beams of electricaly energies holding them in place from falling.

"Awesome!" I whispered, feeling awed at what I was seeing.

Hunter smirked as he watched the floating boulders swim around the temple. "The Lightning Mushroom Rock. It only opens when a Summoner is addressing the Fayth."

"That means another Summoner's alredy in there." Shane added with a nod.

Tori turned to look at me, a questioning and slightly concerned look in her eyes. "Another Summoner?"

"You think it's Kimberly?" I asked, remembering that witch who tried to screw up Tori's pilgrimage before.

"We have to hurry." she insisted, heading her way into the temple.

I followed right behind her, knowing the others were behind us. "Right! In we go!"

As we made it in through the door, the sound of a door opening made us stop and look up. A blonde man with short hair and glasses came walking out of the cloister, two young men with short brown hair following behind him. He seemed to see us and approached with smiles.

"I beg your pardon, but may I ask your name?" the blonde man asked softly.

Nodding, Tori bowed slightly. "I am Summoner Tori, from the isle of Besaid."

"As I thought!" he stated with his smile growing. "The daughter of Lord Braska. You have the look of your father."

Frowning in confusion, Tori tilted her head. "You knew my father?"

"No, I have never met the man. Ah, my apologies. I am Billy. I am a Summoner, like you."

The younger looking brunette man stepped forward with a grin. "I'm Rocky."

The other man nodded. "And I'm Jason. I'm guarding Billy here."

"They're like brothers to me." Summoner Billy put in with a smile and a shake of his head.

I got a close sense of friendship from them, and by what Billy just said, and the way Rocky was almost bouncing around, something told me he was supposed to be the baby brother with emphasis on _baby_.

"Since I was a child, I've always looked up to Lord Braska. I wished I would someday become a High Summoner like he was. You must have some of your father's talent in you! I believe you might someday defeat Sin." Billy said with a warm smile.

I wasn't sure what he meant. I understood his words, but I felt a pang of jealousy flare up at the compliments he was giving her. Part of me knew I didn't have to be worried, and I could see that his intentions are pure, but it still bothered me.

"I...I'm not really...I've only just become a Summoner." she stuttered, her face to the ground and her cheeks slightly pink.

He gave a slight chuckle. "Of course, I have no intention of losing either. So, perhaps we should race to see who can defeat Sin first, no?"

Smiling, she looked up and nodded. "Very well, then. I accept your challenge."

Challenge? Race? Losing? None of this seemed right. Why should they race to defeat Sin? Realizing I still didn't know anything about what would happen, I decided not to question it. If this made Tori happy, and I could see her smile, then I was content to sit back and let it happen.

"Billy!" Jason called from the entrance, and Billy cast him a startled look before nodding to us.

"Tori, I beg your leave. Good luck to the both of us!"

"Yes." she nodded again and did a prayor for him as he left.

Our group went up the stairs, with me behind them, when I heard Billy's voice and stopped, turning to find him rushing in my direction with Jason behind him.

"Hey, you." he called as they approached.

Raising an eyebrow, I wondered what he could want with me and nodded. "Me?"

"You are Tori's Guardian, no? Jason has heard a curious rumor I believed you should know." he said, his face bleak.

Jason nodded. "I heard it directly from the Crusaders. Seems that Summoners have been going out on pilgrimages and just...disappearing."

"It could be that the fiends got them, but not so many at once." Billy put in, shaking his head and looking worried.

"Sorry I don't know more, but...watch your back. Ain't no future for a Guardian with no Summoner to protect."

Rocky came over, looking confused. "What?" When no one answered, he tapped Billy's shoulder. "What?? Whatcha all talkin' 'bout?"

Jason turned to him and gave him a teasing smile. "We're talking about doing your job as a Guardian!"

"Hey! I'm doing good, right big brother?" he asked, turning to Billy who smiled and nodded in return.

"Please, be careful." he said, turning back to me.

"Will do!" I nodded in response, vowing not to let Tori out of my sight until this rumor went away.

"Rocky!" Billy called as he went to the entrance.

He turned and looked at them, frowning. "Oh...what?"

"We're leaving!"

Rocky's eyes widened and he ran after them. "I'll be right there!" He turned to call over his shoulder to me. "See ya!"

Running into the cloister, I met my friends just inside, giving me a confused look that I gestured for them to ignore for now. I'd explain it to them after we got the next Aeon.

"All right. Guardians, at attention!" Shane called.

Tori nodded to all of us, her eyes lingering on me the longest. "We're ready." she said.

Nodding, Shane turned to the cloister. "All right. Let's doing it!"

We went through the cloister, which I was finding was eerily like that of Besaid and Kilika. The layouts were different, but the themes were the same. Collect a certain sphere to open up the doorway. It was like a puzzle, but with the others there, we had it solved in no time, and Tori was climbing the steps to the Chamber of the Fayth to pray. Once she was gone, we had an unwelcome visitor.

"Well, well. You again. Still travelling with quite the crowd I see." Kimberly said in a bored tone, playing with her hair.

Tommy looked around, his eyes widening when he spotted Cam and he walked over.

Looking at him, Kimberly raised an eyebrow. "Tommy, what is it? You know this riffraff?"

"You are...Cam, no?"

That was the first time I'd heard Tommy speak. I thought he was all muscle no brain, but something told me he was smarter than I was giving him credit for. But then, _why_ was he travelling with a witch like that, and practically being her servant?

"What of it?" Cam asked, eyeing the man in front of him warily.

Tommy's brown eyes got even wider. "Can...I shake your hand, Cam, no Sir Cam. You're the reason I became a Guardian!"

Chuckling and nodding, Cam held out his hand and Tommy shook it heartily before pulling back and smiling.

"Thank you Sir, this means so much to me!" Tommy cheered as he looked at the man in awe.

Shane laughed and turned to Kimberly who seemed embarrassed, either for the way she had acted, or for the way Tommy was acting. "Calling the person Guardian of Lord Braska, riffraff?"

Hunter joined in, a cold smirk playing at his lips. "And you call yourself a Summoner?"

"Tommy, enough! Get back here!" she hissed.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor guy. Turning to him as he passed, I muttered quietly to him. "Hand in there buddy." He just nodded, looking sad.

Suddenly, the door opens at the top of the stairs and Tori comes staggering out. She makes it half way down the stairs before sitting down heavily and panting to catch her breath.

"You owe much to your father. All these Guardians, and Sir Cam too? And I hear Maester Lothor's quite taken with you. The world must look different when you're the daughter or Lord Braska." Kimberly stated with a sneer.

I felt sick to my stomach when she said Lothor was 'taken' with Tori. I wanted to smack that witch, then go hunt down Lothor and kill him slowly for ever setting eyes on _my_ Tori! Well, no matter what, I wouldn't let him have her!

"This...has nothing to do with my father! I am travelling on my own, as a full-fledged Summoner!" Tori spat back at her, glaring openly.

Huffing, Kimberly made sure it was obvious she was looking at how Tori was leaning on the steps, resting. "Oh, is that so? Then try standing on your own two legs for once! Your Guardians won't be able to protect you when the time comes!"

I wasn't sure whether to be pissed off at the way she was treating Tori, or scared about the implications of what she was saying. We wouldn't be able to protect her? But didn't Hunter say it was our job to protect her until she defeated Sin?

We left the temple as Kimberly went to pray. Tori had gotten the next Aeon, Ixion, and we decided to spend the night once we saw all the wounded being brought in from the Mi'ihen Operation. I guess, we all knew she'd run herself ragged, trying to heal them and ease their pain.

I just wish, there was a way I could heal _her_ pain. As much as she tried to hide it, I knew she was suffering.

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Another short chapter. Sorry about the varying lengths. LOL.

I hope you like this.

R+R please, and thanks to those who have reviewed. :)

Tenshi


	15. Moonflow and Revelations Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but my computer.

**Note** : Hmmm...things are going to be explained a bit...finally.

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(Moonflow)

The next morning, when I got up, I left and found everyone standing out side the temple, minus one person. It seemed that tori was either busy or still had yet to wake up. I guess I couldn't blame her though, she was up most the night healing people until she could barely stand.

"Blake, why don't you go see how Tori's doing." Cam suggested.

Turning to him, I wondered why he was sending me, but simply nodded. The last thing I wanted to do was question him and have him change his mind!

Entering the temple, I went straight to the room I was pointed to, and noticed her lying on a bed, deep asleep. Seeing her look so peaceful, I just couldn't bring myself to wake her up. Turning when I heard a noise, I saw a priest walk forward, looking at her fondly, with a fatherly love in his eyes.

"She was working until dawn. Healing the injured, sending the dead."

Nodding, I turned back to watch as she slept, taking in her innocent beauty as she rested. "Ok...I guess I'll just let her sleep for now, then." I muttered, not sure what to do. On one hand, I could walk out and leave her sleep, but then, one of the others might come in and wake her up. On the other, I could wake her up, and risk her being mad at me, the others being mad at me, or her being too tired to fight and possibly getting hurt.

It seemed, I didn't have a chance to chose. As soon as I finished my sentence, she stirred, and her bright blue eyes slowly opened, blinking for a moment, until she focused in on me and smiled.

"Morning!" I said, waving and offering her a smile.

I wasn't prepared to have her shoot into a sitting position, or the look of worry that crossed her face. "What? Morning?" she cried, getting up quickly and running around the room frantically, looking for her things.

Raising an eyebrow, I bit my lip to keep from laughing at her, and stood back, hoping to keep from getting trampled. "Don't worry!" I tried to reassure her.

Shaking her head, she grabbed her staff, and went looking for her boots. "But it's morning! I'm sorry! I-I'll get ready right away! Just a moment!" she was almost panting from her hurry, and I wondered why she was in such a hurry and was so worried that people might be angry with her.

Frowning, I shook my head. "Don't worry!" I insisted again. "It's ok." Then, I left her to get ready, and headed back out to the others, wondering if she was acting because of that priest, or not.

A few minutes after I joined the others, Tori came rushing out, panting as she ran, and seemingly not noticing the bed head she was sporting. Part of me wanted to laugh, but another part wanted to go overand smooth it down.

Shane smirked at her and shook his head. "Yo, sleepyhead!" he called.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" she cried as she bent slightly and panted.

Hunter chuckled slightly and walked over, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Really, there's no rush. Here, your hair." he brushed his hand through her hair and her face turned bright red as she quickly reached up and began trying to smooth her hair with her fingers.

"A Summoner with bed hair! What's the world comin' to?" Shane laughed.

Pouting at him, she sighed. "You could have woken me up!" she whined.

Shaking his head, Hunter raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at her. "We tried calling to you, but with all that snoring..."

Tori made a shocked sounde and her jaw dropped as she stared at Hunter in embarrassment, her face turning redder by the second. "What is it today? Everyone's picking on me!" she cried.

Everyone began laughing, including me and surprisngly, Cam. This seemed to be the first time we'd really let go since the beginning of the journey, and it felt good to be able to relax and laugh.

Looking at each of us, Tori's expression was shocked, sad, embarrassed, happy, and a little mad. Finally, she turned to Cam and gave him a pleading look. "You too Sir Cam?"

He nodded and chuckled some more. "Once Lady Tori fixes her hair, we leave!' he stated, making everyone bust up laughing, including her.

I hadn't really laughed like that in a long time, and it felt good to do so. I didn't realize it then, but the only one really laughing was me. The others were simply going through the act. I guess, laughing, was the only thing that kept them going.

We soon went on our way, heaing towards the crossroads. Surprisingly, when we got there, Taylor and Alyssa were sitting there.

Seeing us approach, Taylor nodded to our group. "Off so early? Lady Tori, you must be exhausted, working so hard last night. Will you be ok?"

"I feel that I have rested enough, but thank you for your concern! Will you be leaving too?"

She nodded. "Yes. First we cross the Moonflow, and then head north in search of chocobos to replace the ones we lost."

Alyssa nodded excitedly. "Once we find more chocobos, our Mounted Forces will ride again!"

"Uhhh..." I looked around, trying to find the missing link from this picture. "Aren't you guys missing someone?"

They looked around, only to turn in the direction of the temple as a voice called out to them. "Captain! Waaaaiiit for meeeeee!"

It was Cole, running as fast as he could and waving his hands, obviously hoping they wouldn't take off without him.

I felt my body shaking with laughter, but bit my lip to keep from giving in. I felt bad for the poor guy and didn't want to be caught laughing at him. Chancing a glance at Tori, I noticed her giggling quietly as he ran up, and saw Shane chuckling as Hunter shook his head with a smirk. The only one who didn't seem amused, was Cam. Then again, it seemed to take a lot to amuse Cam.

Alyssa giggled at him before giving him a mock serious glare. "What took you so long? We're leaving!"

Panting, Cole gave her an incredulous look. "You expect me to keep up with a chocobo?!" he cried.

"Lady Tori, I wish you good fortune. Alyssa, Cole, we're leaving!" Taylor ordered, smirking at the poor man.

"Ma'am!" Alyssa nodded, turning her chocobo in the right direction.

Cole looked shocked and raised his hand. "Uh, can't I rest a bit?"

"No complaints!" Alyssa chided him, though her look softened a bit.

The group left, Cole chasing after them, and we continued on our way. Taking the other path, we soon found ourselves walking along a small path with grassy knolls on either side. It looked pretty nice and peaceful, if it wasn't for the odd fiend we ran into.

Soon enough, we ran into a strange man, muttering about missing Summoners as he passed by us.

"I'm worried." Hunter stated, with a frown, following the man as he disappeared back down the path. "Summoners disappearing?"

Cam shook his head. "They aren't just disappearing into thin air."

"Hey, if we Guardians do our job...no problem, right?" I muttered.

Shane looked at me in surprise. "Whoa."

Hunter nodded in agreement. "Confident."

I nodded with a grin. "Yeah!" I'd die before I let anything happen to Tori.

Soon, we made it to the Moonflow, and I stopped to stare in awe. It was a calm looking river with flowers that looked a lot like water-lilies, dancing across the top of the slightly rippling waters. The sky was orange, from the sutting sun, giving it a more peaceful quality to it, and I found myself wishing we could stop and enjoy the place, but I knew better.

"This is the Moonflow." Hunter said unnecessarily.

Tori nodding, her look bordering on awe, as she took in the view. "And thses flowers are moonlilies. They say that clouds of pyreflies gather here at night."

"The entire river glows, like a sea of stars." our black mage put in, his look relaxing as he took in the water.

"Really?" I wanted to see it. "Hey! I got an idea!"

Cam shook his head and shot a glare at me. "We're not waiting her until nightfall."

Frowning at him, I shook my head. "Then once we beat Sin, we're coming back." Realizing what I'd just said, I lowered my head. Once we beat Sin, we'd be going home. No time to enjoy the view, we'd just be gone.

"Hey, we better hurry or we'll miss the shoopuf!" Shane called from around the corner of the road aheard of us.

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Shoopuf?" _What the hell's a shoopuf?_

I followed the others around the bend and stopped again, staring in shock and a touch of fright, at the giant creature in front of us. It looked a lot like a cross between an elephant and brontosaurus. It was large and grey, with a long, thick, scaled hide, and a long trunk that curled around on itself.

"Whoa! What the...whoa!" I was actually worried it might step on me, it was so big!

"This, is a shoopuf!" Shane said dramatically, pointing to the creature. "Let's go."

Everyone got on board the creature, via an elevator manned by a couple of those blue things with frog-like eyes. I think Hunter called them Hypello or something, but man they were freaky to look at!

We all sat down in the carriage on top of it and enjoyed the calming ride. The water swayed and rippled around us, but other than that and the birds chirping in the air, it was silent for a moment, before we began speaking.

Shane turned to me and gestures for me to look over the edge of the carriage. "Hey. Take a look."

Doing so, I noticed we were walking, as the creature was too big to swim, over the ruins of an ancient city. It actually, made we wonder just how many hidden ruined cities there were. One in Mi'ihen, ruins in Besaid, ruins here. It was amazing, but also brought so many questions to my mind. Like...what was this world like before Sin? Who are people surviving to the massive changes?

"A sunken city." I murmured, because I knew Shane would be looking for a reaction. Turning and sitting back down, I noticed him nod seriously.

"A machina city, over 1000 years old."

Another one? I thought Zanarkand was the only machina city destroyed all those years ago, but I wondered if Sin had gone all over the planet, destroying all the huge cities.

"The built the city on top of bridges, across the river."

In other words, they were practically begging to be attacked or sunk somehow.

Hunter nodded at Shane. "But the weight of the city caused the bridges to collapse, and it all sank to the bottom."

"Right. It's a lesson." The ex-coach of the Aurochs said grimly. "Why build a city over a river?"

Thinking about it, I realized it would be pretty stupid, but also... "It would be convenient, with all that water there."

He shook his head. "Nope. That's not why. They just wnted to prove they could defy the laws of nature."

Somehow...I doubted that's all it was.

"Yevon has tought us, when humans have power, they seek to use that power. If you don't stop them, they go too far, ya?"

I wondered. If that was the case, what was stopping us now? Pilgrimages to get Aeons, get power, and then using it to destroy Sin. It's just what he said, but if it was always so bad, who or what was going to stop us this time? And what about the Maesters? They have ultimate power over people and seemed to use it for their own devices, if Kinoc and Lothor were any indication.

"But don't you use machina too? The blitz stadiums and and stuff?" I asked, not understanding the difference between a stadium and forbidden weapons.

Hunter nodded. "Yevon. It decides...which machina we may use, and which we may not."

That sounded a little too convenient to me, but I still wouldn't say anything. "So which can't we use?"

"Remember Operation Mi'ihen? That kind." Shane answered, looking bitter towards what we'd all witnessed.

"Or war will rage again." Hunter put in.

Frowning, I remembered hearing about the war 1000 years ago, but it was so long ago, I couldn't help but think that maybe, they were afraid for no reason. "War?"

Tori turned and looked at me. "More than 1000 years ago...mankind raged a war using machina to kill! It was so horrible, that people feared Spira would be destroyed!"

"But the war didn't stop." Hunter continued. Shaking his head, he sighed. "Sin came, and it destroyed the cities and their machina."

"The war was ended." Tori sighed as she looked down. "And our reward...was Sin."

"But it's not like all machina are bad!" I protested, thinking of our zords and our lives with technology. Sure we caused some damage in our zords, but it was a small price to pay for the lives we saved and the massive damage we managed to stop from happening.

Shane shook his head. "They're only as bad as the Al Bhed scum that use 'em." he muttered.

Suddenly, a loud splash is heard, and everyone jumped up, including Tori.

Turning to her, Cam glared. "Sit down!" he ordered.

"S-Sorry!" she stuttered, moving to sit down, but just then, an Al Bhed, jumped up and grabbed her, pulling her over the edge of the carriage and back into the water with a scream!

"The Al Bhed!" Shane cried. "We'll save you Tori!" he shouted as he jumped into the water.

I might not have been a blitzball player, but knew he'd need some help, so I jumped after him, wondering too late, how I'd hold my breath long enough for battle. Hitting th water, I swam down to where Shane was, and saw Tori being held captive by a huge machina, a blue bubble surrounding her and obviously making it so she could breathe. She took one look at me and made a face, obviously not happy to see me there, but with a sigh, she pointed to her writ, gesturing for me to morph.

Not needing to be told twice, I swam to the surface and grabbed my morpher. "Thunder Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" I cried, morphing into my Navy Ranger form. Going back under, I grabbed my thunderstaff, and swam forward, dealing heavy damage to the vehicle.

Shane looked at me and glowered, obviously not recognizing me, but when he saw me helping him, he turned and continued his assault on the machina. Togather, with me in my morphed state, the battle didn't last too long, and the bubble disappeared as the machina sank. Tori swam for the surface, and I swam over to her, holding her tight as we made it up.

"What were you thinking?" she hissed as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

Shrugging, I sighed. "Something told me Shane would need my help." I answered, noticing how the trunk of the shoopuf wrapped around us and lifted us back onto it's back.

Once we were set down, I let go of Tori and watched as the others took defensive stands, except for Cam who sighed and glared at them.

"Stand down. He's not the enemy." he ordered, coming to stand beside me.

"Who, or _what_ is he?" Hunter demanded.

"He looks like an Al Bhed, ya!" Shane spat angrily.

"He saved me, isn't that enough?" Tori questioned loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Power down!" I stated, demorphing and returning to my civilian form.

"BLAKE?!" Shane yelled, seeing that it was me.

Cam shook his head and sighed. Turning to me, he raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't wait, could you?" Turning to the others, he glared at them coldly. "I told you he had powers you had never seen before. He is not at all related to the Al Bhed, and used his powers to help you. He couldn't hold his breath like you, Shane, so he had to change to help you fight to save Tori."

Hunter relaxed immediately, looking moderately impressed and confused by what he'd witnessed. "So then, if you've had these powers all along, why wait until now to use them?"

"Simple." I answered with a shrug. I sent a raised eyebrow to Shane who looked less than pleased, but he sat down anyways. "I knew it'd have reactions like this and didn't wanna deal with the questions. I still don't, but didn't see any other way of helping Tori."

Shane shot a suspicious look at the Summmoner who returned it with a determined one. "She didn't seem too surprised, ya?"

"That's because I knew he could do it. He didn't before because I told him it was best until you got to know him."

_Actually Tor, you just plain told me not to._ I thought with a raised eyebrow.

"So you trust him?"

She nodded and looked at me with a warm smile. "With my life."

Cam nodded. "As do I. Remember, the Fayth sent him from another world. Shane, if they did that, do you truly believe him to be a threat?"

Hesitantly, he shook his head, but he still seemed wary.

Hunter looked at me and crossed his arms over his chest, but it wasn't a pose meant to be intimidating. It was more out of curiousness. "But what was that?"

Looking to Cam, I saw him nod, and sighed. "It's called morphing. In my world, I'm called a Power Ranger. We're fighters who protect our world against evil forces. What you just saw was me in my Navy Thunder Ranger form, my strongest form."

"That's a lot to take in, ya?" Shane put in, seemingly more relaxed, but still wary.

Hunter sat beside Tori and nodded to me, a small smile playing at his lips. "Thank you for explaining that. I for one feel better knowing we have a warrior from another planet helping us to fight Sin and protect Tori." Turning to her, he frowned. "But how do you know what he is capable of?"

"I believe you should tell them the truth." Cam put in, facing Tori who looked uncertain.

"I'll help you out any way I can." I told her before facing the others. "As I told you, in my world, I know all of you. That's because, in my world, you're all Rangers like me. That includes Tori."

Their eyes widened as they turned to Tori who nodded. "I'm inhabiting the body of your Summoner Tori, to do this pilgrimage in her place. The Aeons saw fit to bring me here, though I honestly don't know why. My mind and spirit are that of earth's Tori. The one Blake here knows. I know a lot about our world, and I know him personally. That's why I say I trust him."

"But that doesn't explain how you know so much about our world." Hunter put in, looking shocked, and a little hurt.

Shane nodded with a frown. "Yeah. Blake here didn't know nothin' 'bout this world, but you did."

Cam stepped forward. "The Fayth gave her the knowledge she needed to get by as well as telling her to act like Summoner Tori so you wouldn't know the difference. It is not clear why Blake wasn't given the same knowledge or why he was sent in his own body, but I believe it has to do with that watch of his and his Power Ranger powers." He saw the confused looks he was getting and sighed. "I know all about it. The Fayth told me. That is why I am here and I have been helping them. More of that, I cannot yet say."

Shaking his head, Shane groaned. "Damn those al Bhed! What do they want from us?" he hissed.

"I wonder..." Hunter began, looking out over the water. "Remember what that man on the path said, about Summoners disappearing?"

Frowning, Shane shot him a glance. "You think the Al Bhed are behind that? Sand-blasted grease monkeys!"

I didn't like the tone he was getting. I was pretty much an alien here, and they just found out Tori and Cam knew more than they were letting on, and that Tori wasn't the one they thought she was, and Shane was complaining about the Al Bhed??

"Hey, Shane. There's no use complaining about them now, right? We'll protect Tori from anything, anywhere, any time." I said, hoping to get him to relax, and secretly hoping he'd get over his hatred of the Al Bhed.

"I guess." He reluctantly agreed.

Hunter nodded at me, giving me a small grin. "You're right."

Looking at me, Tori mouthed 'thank you' to me and smiled softly as we relaxed.

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So a few things were explained in the group. I would'nt have had Blake morph, but it was the only way to help Shane in the fight underwater. The fight had to happen for the next part, so I had to have him morph, thus the explanations. Don't ask me why Blake was sent in his own body LOL. I honestly am still figuring that part out.

Some interesting parts coming up really soon (I hope they'll be interesting to you).

Hope you like it.

R+R please.

Thanks

Tenshi.


	16. Moonflow Part 2, New Guardian

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Hmmm...it's coming along nicely. Chapter 16?! And I'm about only halfway through too! Yikes!

I said before to check out youtube, but it won't give much in explanations. I meant that it'll give you scenes from the game so you have an idea of what's to come. But then, you'll still have to figure out who I replaced with who. Well here's a little help.

Cam - AuronHunter - LuluDustin - RikkuTori - YunaBlake - Tidus

Shane - WakkaShelinda - AshleyRin - AndrosDona - KimberlyBarthello - Tommy

Calli - JustinLucil - TaylorElma - AlyssaClasko - ColeIssaru - Billy

Maroda - JasonPacce - RockyLuzzu - LeanneGatta - KellySeymour - Lothor

Zordon - Maechen

Hmmm...there might be more yet, we'll see. If I missed any, please let me know and I'll let you know. Sorry about the long list. I'm just hoping it'll help you figure out who's who. If you don't know Final Fantasy X, check it out in a search for more information. Asking me for a Summary is hard, because I'm not sure how to summarize it, and I know I'll miss stuff.

Also, you'll notice I changes some females for males, and vice versa. It made it that I had to change the story, but I chose the characters I thought would work best. And again, you'll find I left a few characters alone in the story. There's reasons for that. For one thing, I didn't know who to replace them with. And for another, they'll probably turn out evil or something, so...ya.

Anyways, on with the fic, and sorry about the really long note. It's a short chapter anyways, but don't worry, they won't all be this short.

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(Moonflow, Other Side)

Soon, we made it to the other side of the water, and the group decided to wait a while before continuing on to Guadosalam. Honestly, I hoped they'd wait a few decades before going there. I had a bad feeling about that place.

Deciding to scout the area ahead, I walked off, fiding a path that led to the Guado city and walking up it as far as it stayed along the river. I was quite a ways away from the group, when I came across a prone body lying on the ground, at the edge of the river.

"Uhh...hello?" I asked cautiously as I approached it, noticing how familiar it was.

The body stirred, slowly moving to kneel on the ground, before standing up. That's when I recognized who it was but...I thought he was dead. I mean, when Sin attacked, I thought he was killed or something.

"You're...not dead?" The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I'd said.

The man took off his mask, revealing familiar curly, deep brown hair, and deep brown eyes with a pale complexion. Then he reached behind him to unzip the leather outfit he was wearing, and removed it to show he was wearing long green shorts and an orange muscle top.

Sighing, he shook his head and rubbed water and sand out of his hair. "I thought I was done for back there!"

"Dustin! You're Dustin!" I cried, realizing that just like the others, he looked exactly like my earth friend. "You're ok! How you been?" I asked excitedly, glad to see he was all right."

"Terrible!" he cried, blinking a few times and fixing a metal contraption on his one hand. It looked kind of like a gauntlet, but seemed more of like a brace for if he punched something hard, he's do damage with it instead of his knuckles.

Shaking my head, I took in just how pale he was, and the exhausted look in his eyes. "Yeah. You don't look so good." I muttered. "What happened?"

"You beat me up, remember?" he questioned with a glare in my direction.

Beat...him...up? What was he talking about?

Then it hit me. He was an Al Bhed. The machina that attacked us was run by an Al Bhed. "That machina...was you?" I asked indredulously.

He nodded. "That really hurt you know! You big meanie!"

Raising an eyebrow at the way he spoke, I wondered if he was a little...touched, in the head or something. "But wait! You attacked us!" I cried.

Now he shook his head. "Nah-uh! It's not exactly what you think." he tried to explain.

"Yo!"

We both turned our heads to see the others approaching and I decided to let it drop...for now.

"Friend of yours?" Shane asked, smiling at the man in front of him.

I nodded, searching for something to say. "Uh...you could say that." I muttered.

Dustin seemed to sense my confusion and stepped forward, waving to him. "Hiya! I'm Dustin! Pleased to meet you!" he said with a grin.

"Tori, Hunter...I told you about him, remember? He was the one who helped me before I washed up on Besaid! He's an Al Bhe...Bhe..." I stuttered and trailed off, remembering Shane's avid hate of the Al Bhed.

He didn't seem to catch what I was saying, and turned to me with a shocked look. "Wow. So you like, owe him your life! What luck meeting him here, ya? Praise be to Yevon!" he bowed and did a prayor. "So..uhh, Dustin, You look a little beat up. You ok?"

Hunter stepped forward. "Shane..."

Turning to him, he scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Huh? What?"

Tori stepped beside the black mage. "There's something we need to discuss."

"Oh, go ahead." he said with a nod.

Dustin bounced, yes _bounced_, over to them and turned back to grin. "It's private. Please wait over there!" he said before sticking out his tongue and turning away with Tori and Hunter to talk.

A few minutes later, and Tori approached Cam. "Sir Cam...I would like to ask Dustin to be my Guardian."

He nods before walking over to Dustin and looking at him a moment. "Show me your face." Dustin put his hands behind his back and looked down, scuffing the ground with one of his boots. "Look at me." Cam said again.

Turning his face upwards, Dustin closed his eyes tight.

"Open your eyes." Cam ordered.

Opening one, he looked at the legendary Guardian in front of him.

"The other one too."

Sighing, he did as he was told and Cam looked into his spiraled green eyes. "Umm...no good?" he asked hesitantly.

Looking into Dustin's eyes, he spoke to him. "Are you certain?"

Nodding vigorously, Dustin gave a determined look. "One hundred percent! So, anyway...can I?"

I could've sworn I saw him giving Cam the puppydog eyes, and when the elder Guardian flinched, I knew he had.

"If Tori wishes it."

Tori walked forward, looking determined as well. "Yes, I do."

"Dustin's a good guy. He helped me a bunch." I stated, hoping he would be allowed to join us. It was a lot like earth. Even if everything was different, we were all joining up again, to fight a new threat.

"Well I'm for it. The more the merrier!" Shane put in with a smile.

It was strange really. Even though Shane hated the Al Bhed with a passion...

Dustin grinned. "Dustin, at your service!"

...He never realised Dustin was one of them.

We continued on our way to Guadosalam, when we encountered another of those fiends I'd taken to calling rollie-pollies. Cam wanted to attack it right away, but Dustin stopped him, grinning at the treasure chest it seemed to guard.

"Oooh! A treasure chest! I wonder what's inside?" With that, he ran forward, using the strage weapon on his hand to quickly pick the lock and open it, giving us a strange gem of some kind. It was yellow in color, and seemed almost to glow with power.

I had to wonder if stealing a glowing yellow gem was worth letting the monster live. If anything, I'd learned that the monsters get more powerful as we went along.

"That's my steal ability. I can pick locks real easy or steal from fiends." he informed us.

I was impressed, but remembered him doing it before, so not majorly so. Tori was grinning and seemed impressed, Hunter nodded, looking bored, Cam looked irritated for being interrupted, and Shane looked confused.

Suddenly, he was attacked by the rollie-pollie, and jumped back as he favored his side, glaring at the thing.

"You should know, I'm scarey when I'm mad!" he yelled at it, though it obviously couldn't understand. "I'm gonna use that item I just got, on you!"

He turned his back to the monster, pulling out what looked like the same kind of grenade he'd stolen while helping me before, and the gem, and opened the grenade to stick the yellow gem inside, before closing it again, turning back to the monster, pulling the pin, and tosing it at it. It exploded in a fury of bright light, and lightning flashed across the monster's body, before pyreflies floated away and it disappeared.

Turning to us, he grinned triumphantly. "And _that's_ my mix ability. I can take items and mix them with others to make super strong items. I mixed a lightning gem and grenade together to do what you just saw!" he informed us cheerily as he came back over.

To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I'd never seen anything like it before, and was shocked at how powerful that blast was. I think, it was even _more_ powerful than one of Hunter's thundara spells. I'd say thundaga, but our black mage has yet to make it to that point.

I also wondered what other kinds of items there were. I thought we only had the grenades and healing items, but as he proved, there was so much more.

Then, the way he looked at Tori sadly, I began to wonder what he knew that I didn't. What was he hiding and what did it have to do with her? Why did he try to kidnap her and what was he trying to explain before we got interrupted? I began to hate that I was going out of my way to explain myself to them, and whatever they were hiding, which they obviously couldn't stop thinking about, they still didn't seem to think I was worth giving an explanation to.

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Hmmm...phew. Well, next chapter should prove interesting. Lots coming into play soon.

Dustin's back! YAY! Yeah, he's a little...weird. It's because he changed places with a really immature girl. LOL.

Hope you like it!

Please R+R!

Thank you. :)

Tenshi


	17. Guadosalam Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Things should get more interesting...

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(Guadosalam, Tori's POV)

When we finally stepped into the town of Guadosalam, I noticed it seemed to be full of nothing but Guado. To be honest, this place gave me the creeps, and I shivered as I suddenly got a really bad feeling. I wanted nothing more than to walk back out and never come back, but before I had a chance to so much as open my mouth, a green haired Guado came rushing up.

He looked to be older, like maybe in his 40's or something, and had a huge smile on his face. It wasn't a smile that made me want to return it though. It somehow almost seemed...evil. It made me take a step back, and I felt something brush my arm. Looking out of the corner of my eye, I noticed it was Blake who was openly glaring at the man, and I immediately felt better for his presence.

If nothing else, I knew he'd protect me.

"We have been expecting you, Lady Tori. Welcome to Guadosalam." he greeted with his almost evil smile. "This way, My Lady. This way." he ushered.

Taking my hand, he began leading me towards what looked like a large mansion built into the side of a cliff. I was too shocked to do anything but follow wordlessly, but managed to turn my head and shoot a helpless glance at my Guardians, which they seemed to get right away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shane cried, rushing up with the others right behind him.

The man seemed to realize he was bordering on kidnapping me, and dropped my hand immediately, turning and bowing to us. "Oh, I beg your pardon. I am called Tromell Guado. I am in the direct service of our leader, the great Lothor Watanabi."

That made me want to run away right away, but I stubbornly stood my ground, masking my look behind a confused one. Still, I felt anger and hatred radiating from my body and was sure the others could feel it too.

Sadly, Tromell didn't seem to get the point that I didn't want to hear it. "Lord Lothor has very important business with Lady Tori."

_Business? With me? What's he want with me?_ I thought angrily as I raised an eyebrow. Oh how I wanted to run back and grab Blake's hand, making him never let go of me again! "Whatever could it be, I wonder?" I asked, biting back my sarcasm. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"Please, come inside the manor. All will be explained. Of course, your friends are also welcome."

_They better be! I'm not going nowhere without them!_ I thought as I nodded.

We followed him reluctantly, as Dustin moved to walk beside me. "Twist our arms why don't ya?" he asked, glaring at the Guado. Turning to me, he offered a grin. "What would you do without me?"

Entering the giant manor, I looked around, immediately noting the many pictures of Guados on the walls. One I remembered as the former Maester, Jyscal. That reminded me. In our world, Lothor was Cam's uncle. Did that mean this Cam was related to this Lothor as well? And where was Sensei Watanabi?

"This way please. I will go inform Maester Lothor that you are here. One moment please." Tromell said in his ever pleasant voice as he disappeared.

I wandered over next to Blake and Shane and looked at them. Well, I mostly looked at Blake who seemed really uncomfortable and suspicious. Chancing a glance at Hunter, I noticed he seemed to feel the same way. It made me wonder...just how many of my Guardians felt the same way as me?

Before I could even ask any of them what was on their minds, Tromell returned, still keeping his freaky smile as he approached me.

"Truly, it is good to have guests again. Since Lord Jyscal passed away, these walls have been too quiet."

I nodded solemnly, offering a fake smile. "The death of Lord Jyscal was a great loss for all of Spira." I said honestly. I never met the guy, but the memories and knowledge the Fayth had given me, told me that he really was. Sadly, it seeme the same couldn't be said about his son.

I was close enough to Blake, that I heard when he spoke to Shane.

"Was that Maester Jyscal really such a great guy?"

As much as I wanted to tell him, I knew it would draw Tromell's attention and in the home of what I considered the enemy, you dod _not_ want to piss them off!

Shane nodded. "He brought the teachings of Yevon to the Guado. He was truly a great man."

_Thanks Shane._ I thought, feeling relieved that he explained that for me.

Tromell turned to them, answering Shane's statement, but showing no sign of hearing Blake's question. "Truly a great loss for us all. But now a new leader, Maester Lothor, has come before us. Lord Lothor is the child of a human and a Guado. He will be the tie that binds our two races together."

Raising an eyebrow, I faked an interested look. _I seriously doubt that._ I thought to myself. If anything, I was betting Lothor was buying his time before he attacked this world like he did to ours.

"But that is not all, I think. Lord Lothor...he will surely become the shining star that will light the ways for all the people of Spira."

I wondered if anyone else seemed to buy this nonesense. Cam obviously didn't, if his glare had anything to say about it. Hunter seemed suspicious, so I doubted he did. Dustin looked bored, and it made me wonder if he'd heard a single word that was said, and was looking at the guy in awe, obviously believing every word he spouted, and Blake was trying very hard, but failing to disguise his glare.

Suddenly, the sound of a throat being cleared, drew our attention to the doorway, and I saw Lothor standing there, looking pleased with himself, and staring at me like I was on the menu for tonight, making me want to run out of there and jump in the nearest river!

"That is quite enough, Tromell." he said, and his servant bowed before leaving. Turning to me, he blatantly ignored my Guardians. "Must I always endure such praise?" Chuckling, he shook his headn and looked at each of my Guardians before turning back to me. "Welcome!"

"You...wanted to see me?" I questioned, feeling a little sick at the way he was looking at me.

He nodded. "Please, make yourselves at home. There's no rush." he said pleasantly.

_Ohhhh. I don't think so._

Luckily, Cam seemed to agree with me. "Please, keep this short. Tori must rush."

Sighing, he nodded again. "Pardon me. It's been such a long time since I had guests."

I fought not to laugh at that. He sounded like a lonely old man, but then again, by the way he was looking at me, he seemed to want more than to just talk pleasantries.

"Lady Tori, this way."

We followed him into a large room that could easily fit a thousand people, and suddenly, the entire place changed. The floors and walls faded away, being replaced by an endless sea of stars! I heard the awed sounds my friends were making, and found myself lost in the beauty as I spun around and looked on in wonder. Part of me knew I should be afraid. After all, who knew what else he was capable of? But most importantly...I was standing on air!

Dustin seemed a little worried about that too, but otherwise, everyone was staring at the magnificent view around us.

It suddenly changed again, and we found ourselves standing still as a massive metropolis flew by us. People appeared and milled around, walking through us, giant buildings went passed, and it seemed like it never ended!

"Zanarkand." Blake muttered from beside me.

I realized he was right. From what I'd seen of the ruined city before I was brought here, and from what the Fayth described, this was obviously Zanarkand before the war and Sin.

"Correct." Lothor agreed, nodding as the images continued. "This sphere was created from the thoughts of the dead that wander the Farplane. Zanarkand as it was 1000 years ago. The great and wonderous machina city. She once lived here."

I frowned as I thought about what he was saying. "She? Who?"

The images changed again to show a woman's chamber, with a woman sitting on her bed. She had long blonde hair that fell to her knees, and a very skimpy outfit. Suddenly, a dark skinned man with black hair entered, and she got up, running to embrace him closely.

"Lady Victoria!" I cried, recognizing my name sake. And the man she was with must've been Lord Bradley.

Lothor nodded and looked at me, making me fight not to cringe. "She was the first person to defeat Sin and save the world from it's ravages. And you have inherited her name."

"It was my father who named me." I mentioned, frowning at his words. As much as everyone wanted me to complete the pilgrimage, and as much as I wanted to do it myself, realizing what would happen, if we failed to beat Sin permanently, I wanted to run as far away as I could. I didn't want...no. I wasn't going to think about it.

"Lord Braska was entrusting you with a great task. He wanted you to face Sin, as Lady Victoria once did. However, Lady Victoria did not save the world alone. To defeat the undefeatable Sin...it took an unbreakable bond of love."

I wanted to beat him senseless for saying that. Who did he think he was, to speak of love, when he knew nothing about it?

"Of the kind that binds two hearts for eternity." he finished.

The images faded and we found ourselves back in the dining room, looking at the plain blue walls and the feast that had been set out at a small table.

Looking around, I noticed the others were gone, and felt horribly vulnerable as he came up to me, a searching look on his face that made me afraid of what he was going to say next.

(Normal POV)

Blake was standing next to the others, leaving Tori alone to face Lothor. He didn't like it, but it seemed that whatever he wanted to talk to her about, he wouldn't do it in front of them. He just kept stalling for time, and it was seriously starting to piss him off.

He also didn't like the way he began talking about how Lady Victoria saved the world due to an 'unbreakable bond of love'. It almost seemed like he was talking about himself and Tori, like he was telling her he loved her, but from the look in his eyes, it had nothing to do with love at all.

Blake saw him lean over and speak with Tori privately, and a moment later, she ran over, looking panicked. She grabbed a tall glass of water and downed it in one go, then filled it again and drank another, slower.

This worried him, as he saw the terror and disgust in her eyes after she finished. Her face was beet red and she was shaking like a leaf. he bit his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood as he fought not to grab his thunder blade and impale the Maester on it. Tasting the coppery tang in his mouth, he took a deep breath and forced himself to relax as he walked up to her, making a stand right next to her so no one would be able to get to her without first having to deal with him.

"Wow! Your face is beet red!" Dustin exclaimed, looking at her in concern.

Blake nodded, glaring at the man who was standing nearby, striving to look innocent. "You ok?" he muttered, worrying about her. Somehow, he knew he wouldn't want to know the answer to whatever Lothor had said, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him...again.

She shook her head and gave him a confused look. "He...He asked me to...marry him." she stuttered, not at all pleased about it.

It was that moment, he felt rage bubbling through his body. It was obvious to him that this Lothor was no different from the other one, unless you counted the fact that he was more twisted. _How _dare_ he?! _he snarled in his mind, clenching his fists so hard, he knew he'd undoubtedly draw blood. Taking a few calming breathes, he managed to speak. "You serious?" he choked out, wanting to scream the question.

Cam looked at her before turning to look at Lothor who had walked a bit closer, but had wisely chosen to remain out of arm's reach of the enraged Navy Ranger. "You know what Tori must do." he stated. It almost seemed there was a hopeful edge to his voice, like he was hoping the Maester would take back his question.

Unfortunately, he simply nodded and smiled. "Of course. Lady Tori, no _all_ Summoners, are charged with bringing peace to Spira. But this means more than just defeating Sin. She must ease the suffering of all of Spira."

_And just what do _you_ know of Spira's suffering, or anyone's for that matter?_ Blake snarled in his mind, biting his bottom lip and clenching his fists as he crossed his arms, aware of how rigid his body was.

"She must be a leader for the people. I proposed to Lady Tori as a Maester of Yevon."

Somehow, Blake found that hard to believe and doubted his pleasant words, searching for their hidden meaning. For all his pleasantries, there seemed to be a hidden...desire behind the facade. Not one for Tori, but for something else, but it didn't soothe Blake's worries at all.

"Spira is no playhouse." Cam put in, shaking his head. "A moment's diversion may amuse an audience, but it changes nothing."

Lothor nodded in agreement. "Even so, the actors must play their parts. There's no need to answer right away. Please, take your time to think about it."

For some reason, all his pleasantries, all his words and false pretenses, they reminded Blake of Operation Mi'ihen, and he wondered if he was trying to lead them into the same trap. Give them false hope, only to have them beaten down, and swoop in to save the day.

"We will do so, then. We leave." Cam said as he walked to the door.

Still giving that creepy smile, Lothor bowed to Tori, who remained pale and silent. "Lady Tori, I await your favorable reply." he said, his tone indicating that he already _knew_ she'd say yes.

"I must ask though." he began, looking at Cam closely, a knowing glint shining in his eyes. "Why are you still here Sir?" Giving an apologetic look, he bowed his head. "I beg your pardon. We Guado are keen to the scent of the Farplane."

That made Blake pause a moment as the group walked to the door. _Scent of the Farplane?_ he wondered silently. Was Lothor implying that Cam was dead or something? But that didn't make sense. If Cam was dead, wouldn't he be filled with anger and hate, driving him insane and turning him into a fiend?

Leaving the manor, the group convened outside in the woodsy town of Guadosalam.

Hunter sighed, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Tori, the High Summoner's daughter. Lothor, the leader of the Guado. Married in the name of Yevon, overcoming the barriers of race. It would give Spira something cheery to speak about for a change."

_Over my dead body!_ Blake thought with a frown. No way in hell was he going to let this happen! Even though he already knew Tori would say no, a she obviously didn't like the guy at all, he still worried about things to come. If she said no, they would have made a powerful enemy, but if she said yes, he wouldn't be able to continue on this journey with her. To be perfectly honest, he was scared as hell she'd say yes.

"Sounds just like a passin' daydream like Cam says." Shane muttered, looking confused. It was like he didn't know whether to be elated for the news, or worried.

Shaking his head, Blake sighed. "Come on! Let's just continue on with the pilgrimage. I mean, marriage?" he wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was jealous and knew he sounded it.

Dustin seemed to pick up on it as well and nudged his side with a grin. "Hmmm...jealous?"

_Gee...you think?_ "What? No way! We gotta defeat Sin. Romance can wait!" I insisted firmly, glaring at Dustin and feeling my face heat up at the same time.

Shane groaned and took a step back as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "He sure picked a fine time to lay this one on us!"

"Maybe...it _is_ a fine time." Tori muttered.

Blake felt his eyes widen as he turned to her. He could only stare in shock, opening and closing his mouth, but not knowing exaclty what to say. Finally, he settled for blunt and to the point. "You serious?"

She nodded slowly, and he could see the tears behind her eyes as she gave him a helpless look. "If my getting married would help Spira...if it would make people happy...If I could do that for people...maybe I should do what I can. I never imagined doing anything like this..."

_Me either_. Blake thought sarcastically, as he fought to contain his anger and hurt. How could she even be considering this??

"...But I won't answer until I know what's right."

_What's there to know? You Summoner...Lothor evil. We kill Lothor. It all seems pretty simple to me. _he thought as he tried to make sense of everything that was going on. Just two minutes ago, Tori looked ready to hurl at the thought of marrying Lothor, and now she's actually considering it? It just didn't make any sense! This seemed to go far beyond acting the part of Summoner Tori.

"You can always quit your pilrimage and get married." Dustin said seriously, but Blake could've sworn he heard a ring of hope in his tone. It made him wonder all the more...

_WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?_

"I will...go on. I'm sure that Lord Lothor will understand." Tori put in quietly, wiping her face to wipe away the tears that had escaped.

It made Blake wonder why she considered the marriage if it hurt her so much, but thinking back over everything said, he realized it made a lot of sense, and suddenly felt bad for her, understanding that she must've been in a _lot_ of pain! On one hand, she didn't want anything to do with 'Lord' Lothor, but on the other, her duty here was to beat Sin and make the people of this world happy. If marrying him did that, then she was considering that maybe...it's what she was sent here to do.

"Umm...I guess so." Dustin seemed hesitant to let it go at that.

"I am a Summoner! I must fight and defeat Sin!" Tori exclaimed firmly, looking into the Al Bhed's eyes.

Cam nodded from his place just outside our small group. "Like Braska before you." He said it tonelessly, but Blake could hear the underlying tone of pride in that simply statement.

Part of Blake fought not to scream out 'What's there to think about?'.

Sighing, Tori started for a path that led upwards and went over top the main path to the manor. "I'm going to the Farplane. I'm going to see my father and think on this."

Hunter nodded. "Go on, we'll be right behind you." he encouraged quietly.

Blake saw Tori shoot him a pained look before she walked away and felt his heart constrict in pain, before forcefully pushing the thought aside and focusing on the question that had popped up when Tori made the statement about going to the Farplane.

"Question!" he called out, getting the group's attention. "About this Farplane...When somebody dies, a Summoner sends them to the Farplane, right? So their souls, or whatever they are, they go to the Farplane, right? But that's the Farplane we're going to, right? And Tori's old man's there too? Do dead people live there or something?" Thinking about it, and hearing the words out loud, he realized he just served to confuse himself.

Then, he pictured the Farplane from his dream, with the field of flowers, full of ghosts wandering around, and shuddered as a cold chill went down his spine.

Shane chuckled and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You thinkin' those weird thoughts again, ya? You'll see once we get there."

Heading up, they entered a cave with an eerie purplish-orange glow, and walked down a long path, before they made it to a long flight of stairs. The odd person passed through, going up or coming down the stairs, and the ones entering, passed through a large blue barrier of some sort, without a second's hesitation.

As the group headed up the stairs, Cam stopped, and turned to take a seat, causing Blake to stop and look at him a moment.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked, wondering why Cam was just sitting there and why he looked so pale.

Shrugging, he shook his head. "I do not belong there."

That comment made Blake frown. Just what did he meant by that? Deciding to test him, he smirked. "You're scared!"

Cam raised an eyebrow and turned to regard Blake a moment. "Searching the past to find the future...This is all that is there. I need it not." Turning back aroung, he sighed slightly. "You'd better be going."

Dustin shook his head and came over, looking seriously at Cam's slumped back, and Blake's confused look. "You're not really going to see the dead, more like your memories of them. People think of their relatives, and the pyreflies react to them. They take on the form of the dead person, that's all. It's an illusion, nothing else."

"Hmmm..." Blake nodded in agreement and realized that it made a lot of sense, but still, the thought of going into the Farplane scared him. If he'd see the images of dead loved ones...would he see his parents? He didn't think he could handle that, but part of him felt he had to try.

"Well, have fun!" Dustin cheered, moving to sit on the opposite side of the steps from Cam.

Blinking in confusion for a moment and shaking his head, Blake raised an eyebrow at the Al Bhed. "You not coming?"

Sighing, Dustin looked down. "I keep my memories inside. I mean, memories are nice, but that's all they are, you know?"

Nodding, Blake turned and walked towards the Farplane, placing his hand out and into the bubble, feeling a slight resistance, and then stepping through with his eyes closed.

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This didn't end with a chapter break, but I made one because this chapter was long enough. I'm sorry if it takes a while to update...we've had severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings in the area for the past few days (It's...probably not as bad as I think I'm making it out to be).

I hope you like this. Wow. OMG! Lothor ... ooohhh...poor Tori! Poor BLAKE!

R+R please.

Thank you so much for staying with me this long:)

Tenshi


	18. Guadosalam Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing but my own insanity.

**Note** : THIS IS NOT A TORI/LOTHOR FIC! Just for those who were wondering about the proposal. LOL. This is a Blake/Tori fic for a reaons LOL.

I apologize a head of time for what's coming up. Things will become questionable, and might seem gloomy for a bit, but this fic WILL have a happy ending...whenever I get to it. LOL. This is also not a deathfic. In the game, Kelly or Leanne was supposed to die in Operation Mi'ihen, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Also, in the original ending, the male was supposed to die and break the heart of the female, but that's not going to happen here.

**Pinklen98** _Yes, Dustin took the place os one Rikku. I only set him to that place, because I chose what characters certain rangers fit best. It's one of those things, you'd have to know the game for, I think. Look for character biographies for the Final Fantasy characters I listed in a previous chapter, and it might make more sense._

_I totally agree that there shouldn't be a marriage between Tori and Lothor. This isn't my choice but part of the plot. I do promise you though, that this is solely a Tori/Blake fic._

**JuseaPeterson** _Yeah, things are getting pretty chaotic. Trust me though, things have yet to get worse before they get better. Just rest assured, this is definitely, no doubt at all, a Blake/Tori fic. Lothor's the bad guy. That's all, and he'll get his!_

**ThunderBrosRule27** _Yeah, I always liked the brotherly love. THank you, that means a lot. I'm glad you like it._

I'm glad you all like my fic so far. Things are going to soon become hectic, and lots is going to happen. Just thought I'd warn you now.

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(Farplane)

When he opened his eyes again, he gasped at the sight that met him. The sky was filled with orange tinted mist, and a large cliff over looked a glowing field of flowers with a 'U' shaped waterfall in the center. Part of him wondered how this Farplane could be so different than the Farplane he saw in his dream, but Dustin's words came back to him, explaining it a bit.

_It's an illusion, nothing else._

So...did that mean this view of the Farplane was dredged up by people's thoughts of what it _should_ look like? Other than it was a huge field of flowers, it was totally different from what he saw.

Then again, it wasn't the view of the Farplane that made him gasp. It was the two transparent people talking in the center of the cliff ledge. One had long black hair back in a high bun with four long braids trailing down from it, and she wore a black dress that was so low cut, he wondered how she didn't fall out. The other, was a younger girl with blonde hair up in a high ponytail with two short braids hanging down over her shoulders.

As he approached, he noticed the darker haired woman had red eyes, and the blonde had spiraled green eyes, marking her as an Al Bhed.

"But Lulu...!" the blonde whined with a stamp of her foot.

Lulu, the brunette, shook her head before turning and seeing Blake. "That's enough Rikku! He's here." she stated in an almost emotionless voice.

Turning, Rikku gasped and giggled before bouncing up to him. "He's the one we sent for? He's cuute!" she said as she kept giggling.

Glancing around, he noticed that no one else seemed to know the apparitions were here, and it freaked him out that he was the only one.

It was like Lulu could sense this, because she sighed loudly and put a hand to her waist as she shook her head. "We're Fayth." she said simply. "You've already met Yuna who is Valefor, and Tidus who is Ifrit. I am Shiva, whom Tori will get soon, and Rikku here is Ixion."

"Yep, yep!" The cheery blonde nodded vigorously. "And we're here to tell you that we know what's happening, and you can't attack Lothor."

"Yet." put in Lulu. "We know you hate him, but things will happen as they must. You will have to control your anger."

Frowning, Blake looked around again and caught sight of Tori looking at a ghostly apparition of a man and woman who floated on the orange mist in front of her. "And what about Tori?"

"You'll find out soon, but for now, you must let thing happen as they need to. When she makes her choice, do not act rash no matter what." Lulu informed him.

"Oh, we gotta go." Rikku put in. "We've spent too much time here." Turning to Blake, she sighed and with a sad smile. "You take good care of Tori. She'll need you." she said as she faded away.

Lulu nodded. "She'll need your strength. You must be there for her." she put in as she too faded away.

Looking to the now empty space, he sighed. "I'll always be there for her." he muttered quietly. "I love her and I won't let anything happen to her."

Waiting a little bit, Blake eventually went over to Tori as the images of those people, he guess were her parents, faded away. Turning, he noticed a more determined look in Tori's eyes as she looked at him and was almost afraid of what she chose, but decided to be as strong as he could for her. "So...Tor?"

She gave a brief nod. "I've decided."

"Oh? Really? That's good." he muttered, struggling to say something meaningful, but at the same time, stuck wanting to yell to her _not_ to go through with it.

"I remember when I was only seven years old, in Bevelle that day." she started, her eyes glazing over as she recalled something. "My father had defeated Sin, and the whole town was out on the streets."

He wondered what this had to do with anything, but stayed quiet and indulged her. Then, he also wondered why she kept talking as if _she_ lived through it, but he guessed the Aeons must have given her more than just the information she needed. It scared him a bit. What if, when the pilgrimage was done and Sin was gone, she wanted to stay here? He'd want to stay with her, but wouldn't be able to leave his brother behind like that.

It was like a war in his heart. Tori or his brother. There really was no competition. As much as he loved Tori, Hunter was the only family he had left, but at the same time, it would hurt him so much to leave her behind. He wasn't sure what he would do if it ever came to pass, and didn't honestly think he could chose.

Mentally rolling his eyes at himself, he forced himself not to dwell on it, and listen to what she had to say.

"Everyone was laughing. They all seemed so happy. If I defeat Sin, that would make everyone happy, wouldn't it?"

Honestly, Blake didn't know. He guessed so, but then, he didn't really know _what_ was going to happen, now did he?

"I must do what everyone wants, not just what I want." she finished, looking sad, but at the same time, relieved.

Nodding, Blake turned towards the exit of the Farplane. "Let's go back. You gotta tell Lothor." He was a little eager to see her turn him down.

Shaking her head, Tori grabbed his hand, and pointed to Shane and Hunter who came over.

"Well? Need more time? Shane questioned.

She shook her head again. "No. I'm ready."

Raising his eyebrow, Hunter crossed his arms over his chest. "Did I miss something?"

Not bothering to answer him, they left the Farplane, going back to Cam and Dustin who waited outside for them.

"Thanks for waiting!" she called to her friends as they rejoined the group. "I'll go give my answer to Maester Lothor."

Suddenly, there was a scream at the top of the steps, and everyone turned to see a Guado man come stumbling out of the barrier that led to the Farplane.

A Guado woman put her hand over her mouth and backed away. "Lord Jyscal?!" she cried, staring at the dark haired older man with the dar complexion.

Frowning, Blake remembered that Lothor's 'dad's' name was Jyscal, but he was supposed to be dead!

Another Guado, a man, fell back on his ass and scooted away from the man. "Lord Jyscal!"

"He does not belong here!" Cam stated firmly, turning to Tori. "You must send him!"

Walking forward, Tori grabbed her staff and appraoched the figure. Before she could move, however, he reached out and spoke to her in a voice only she could here. Then he dropped something, that she quickly picked up before anyone else could see it.

As she began to dance, Cam collapsed to his knees and held his chest, but no one noticed due to the fact that they all had their backs turned to him. He managed to pull himself together, and stood up again, though his face was unusually pale.

Performing the sending, she sighed as the ghostly man faded away, and bowed her head. Returning to the group, they continued out of the cave, most of them looking either confused or sad.

"What...what was that just now? Was that really Lord Jyscal?" Shane asked warily as he looked around the cave as if expecting to be attacked.

Blake wanted to say something to comfort his spooked friend, but honestly, he was scared too. He thought that once a dead person was sent, they couldn't come back. So what happened this time?

Tori pursed her lips and sighed, looking thoughtful as she walked. "I don't understand how a man like Jyscal could die and not be sent."

"I would think he was sent once...but he stayed on in Spira. Something, a powerful emotion could have bound him to this world. Such things happen." Hunter added softly, looking forward, but a look of confusion was written across his face.

"That's against the rules...isn't it?" Dustin asked, looking spooked. His bright green, spiraled eyes, were wide with fear as he walked closely between Hunter and Cam.

Cam sighed and shook his head. "It means, he died an unclean death."

Blake frowned as he walked silently beside Tori. _An unclean death. Like...murder?_ It comfused him. If the guy was so loved, then why would anyone want to murder him? But then, that's going on a guess that he died of murder and not something else.

Once they made it to the manor, Tori took a few steps forward and turned back to her Guardians. "I will go...meet with Lothor." she said firmly as she turned to walk into the manor.

Cam called out to her when she reached the doorway. "Tori! Jyscal is the Guado's problem, not yours!"

Somehow, Blake's mood dampened when Tori went in there alone. Some part of him began to wonder...would she really accept?

Dustin came running over just before Blake could move to walk away. "Wait up! I'll go with ya!" he cheered. They walked along a path for a while, before the spunky Al Bhed seemed to sigh. "Tori's getting not married, isn't she?"

"Look's like it." he answered glumly as he looked at the path they walked on.

"It's your big chance, huh?"

_Big chance?_ Looking at Dustin, he saw the sly grin on his face and scowled. "I don't care." he lied. Actually, he cared a lot, but was afraid to admit it.

"That's not the thing to say!" Dustin scolded, looking sad, scared and angry all at the same time. "I think she should get married and stop being a Summoner!"

_So _that's_ his motivation! That's why he kidnapped her!_ Blake thought with sudden realization. Dustin really didn't want her to fight Sin, but...why? What was going to happen if she fought Sin?

"You serious?" he asked, acting incredulous, in hopes of finding out more.

Dustin nodded. "Yeah." he answered quietly. "It's tough, you know? In the end, she has to fight Sin..."

Frowning, Blake nodded. "Yeah, but she...She would never marry someone who wanted her to quit."

"I guess you're right. Too bad." Dustin whispered as he walked off.

Shaking his head, Blake followed a tunnel down to find another of those glowing spheres just at the edge of a huge plain that flashed with thunder and lightning every few seconds. What surprised him, was that Ashley came walking up the path, stopping just before him and looking surprised.

"My...was the Lady Tori not with you?" she asked in confusion, looking around.

Shaking his head in answer, he pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "She's at Lothor's place."

Scowling, Ashley raised an eyebrow. "That's 'Maester Lothor' or 'Lord Lothor'." she insisted.

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I'll be careful. Sorry" he muttered.

"That's all right." she said, smiling at him. "Maester Lothor left Guadosalam a short while ago."

"You serious?"

She nodded. "I believe he went to Temple Macalania. Maester Lothor is also the High Priest of that temple."

"Whoa! I gotta tell the others!" Blake exclaimed, nodding to Ashley before taking off to find the others. Filling them in on the situation, Dustin called for Tori.

"Tori, let's go!"

A moment later, and she walked out of the manor, looking confused and a little put out.

"They say Lothor went to Macarena temple." Blake told her.

"Macalania temple." Shane corrected, and Blake felt his face heat up in embarrassment.

"Uhh...yeah. Right." he mumbled.

"What I don't get is...why would Maester Lothor take off without a peep to no one, ya?" Scratching the back of his head, Shane gave a small shrug.

Dustin nodded and put a hand to his chin. "Maybe...he didn't expect Tori to be ready to answer so soon."

_Neither did I._ Blake thought darkly.

"That must be it, ya."

Tori shifted, and Cam turned his attention to her. "What is it?"

Shaking her head, she offered him a weak smile. "It's nothing."

Scoffing, he peered into her eyes. "You're a poor liar."

Frowning, she returned the look. "I'm serious. It's nothing! Come on, let's go!"

Together, the group left for the next stop which Blake found out was called the Thunder Plains. As cool as it would be to cross the area he'd seen before, and as much as he'd love to see the storm, his mind was elsewhere.

Why did Tori look so uncomfortable?

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Hmmm...chapter 18 and I'm still only about halfway through it.

Well I hope you like it. It looks like Tori is going to refuse the proposal, but then...why does she look so uncomfortable? And what did Jyscal drop? And why was he even there to begin with?

Stay tuned to find out.

I hope you liked this.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	19. Thunder Plains Pain

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

**Note** : Yikes...this is getting...well, you decide.

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(Thunder Plains, Blake's POV)

As we entered the Thunder Plains, I noticed that Dustin's eyes got wide and he hunched a bit with his hands over his chest. His face paled to an unnatural ghostly coloring, and he shook as he looked around wildly.

To be honest, he worried me. What was his problem?

He sighed and shook his head. "Oh, no...we're here." he muttered quietly, jumping at a crash of thunder.

Seeing several lightning bolts crash down and hit the ground in several places, I felt my heart stop. Swallowing heavily, I turned to the others who looked determined to get through this. "How're we supposed to cross that?"

Hunter pointed to the large pillars that resembled towers of some kind. Withing a two foot radius all around each one, the place seemed to be safe, because the lightning struck the tower instead of the ground. "See the lightning rod towers? The lightning is drawn to them...hopefully."

_Hopefully? HOPEFULLY??! _Why didn't that reassure me? I had a sudden urge to ninja streak across it, but that would mean leaving the others behind and I still didn't want Tori out of my sight. Besides, God only knew what was on the other side.

"We head north. Not too near, and not too far from the towers, ya?" Shane put in.

Sighing, Hunter shot him a glance. "Meaning, we avoid wide open spaces." he finished, clarifying for the rest of us, though I was sure we already got the idea.

"I...think I forgot something in Guadosalam." Dustin said nervously, taking a backwards step towards the town and smiling nervously. He jumped as another lightning bolt struck the ground not ten feet from us, and began trembling violently.

"Nice knowing you." Cam said in a bored tone, indicating that he wasn't fooled by the Al Bhed's weak attempt to hide his fear.

Frowning, Dustin straightened up as much as his terror would allow and glared at the man in front of him. "Okay, okay! I'll go!" he whined, as he stepped forward and joined our group.

As we passed the first lightning rod tower, it got struck by lightning, making us all jump. Without even realizing it, I had landed beside Tori and grabbed her hand, gripping it tightly as I looked around carefully. Feeling her squeeze my hand back, I looked down at our joined hands, then back up at her smiling face, feeling my face heat up at the warm smile she was giving me.

"Whoa! That was a close one!" Shane called as he watched the tower.

We pulled apart reluctantly and I turned to observe the others.

"Stop kidding around." Hunter said in a bored tone.

Shane nodded and ducked his head, smiling sheepishly. "Yes, Sir."

Dustin was hunched over again and looking around nervously as he trembled violently. "Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh..."

Everyone turned to find him shaking and laughing nervously in a strange way that got worried looks from everyone.

Walking over to the Al Bhed, Shane frowned. "Eh? What's wrong?"

"Eh heh heh heh heh heh..." The green spiraled eyes closed and his trembling grew, punctuated by a jump at a flash of lightning.

Sneering, I looked at him and narrowed my eyes before sighing and shaking my head. "'Eh heh heh heh...' You're really starting to creep me out." I told him, watching closely as his already pale face paled even more.

Suddenly, the dam seemed to break, and Dustin was looking at us in terror. "I wanna go home! I hate lightning! I hate thunder!"

That _so_ didn't sounds like the Dustin I knew.

He pointed to a nearby travel agecny and gave everyone the puppy dog eyes. "Let's go rest over there! Please?"

"This storm never stops. Better to cross quickly." Cam put in before turning and walking away.

"I know, but...just for a little while?" he pleaded.

I kind of felt bad for him. He really _was_ terrified of thunder and lightning! I actually wondered how it happened, but realized we were splitting up. The rest of the group was still moving, but I was standing by Dustin near the travel agency.

Suddenly a huge flash light up the sky, and Dustin cried out in terror, collapsing to his knees and quickly crawling to my side, grabbing my leg and holding it tight as he trembled.

"What? Hey! Let go!" I cried, shaking my leg, but Dustin had such a good grip, I would've had to saw off my leg to get him off me.

"Pretty please? Just for a few minutes?" Dustin begged the retreating backs of the rest of the group. When they kept going, so did he. "I'm scared of lightning! Let's rest, please?" He still got no answer and seemed to be getting mad, or possibly more terrified, if the nails digging into the back of my calves was any indication. "I'm too young to die!" he wailed into the sky.

I swear to God, I was ready to beat him senseless. With him holding onto my leg, I couldn't move a muscle to go in either direction. Luckily, I was standing near a lightning rod tower when he grabbed my leg, so I was at least safe from getting struck by lightning, but...I was getting soaked! Did he have any idea how freaking cold it was out here?!

"You're mean...cruel! Your mothers would be ashamed of you!" Dustin kept going, obviously oblivious to my suffering, or the fact that the others were ignoring him. "Are you having fun doing this to me?"

_Are _you_ having fun holding me hostage?_ I thought darkly, struggling to think up a way to get him off me.

Suddenly, it looked like his pleas worked, because the others came back with Cam in the lead. He was openly glaring at the Al Bhed man attached to my leg, but sighed and gestured to the travel agency. "Fine, we rest. He's worse than the storm." he grumbled as he walked inside.

We followed suit, me finally being able to move once Dustin dashed inside. You know, I don't think I'd ever seen a human move so fast, and found myself laughing as I went inside with the others.

Tori looked at us all, obviously distracted, and walked up to the counter. "I'm...a little tired. Do you have a room available?"

The clerk looked up and gasped, brightening to find himself facing a legend. "Lady Summoner! Why yes, we do. Just over that way." he said with a smile as he pointed down a hallway that curved out of sight.

Nodding, she offered him a small smile and gave him the money for the room. "Thank you."

"Uh...Tori?" Shane asked hesitantly, but she ignored everyone and walked out of the room, going around the corner and into another room.

"Hmmm..." Hunter looked in the direction she'd gone, in worry. "It's not like her." he muttered.

Talking to Dustin, I found out he'd been attacked by a fiend when he was little, swimming with his brother. His brother, ironically _named_ Brother, had tried to cast a lightning spell on the fiend, but hit him by accident. Ever since then, he'd been afraid of lightning.

I guess it made sense. If it'd been me, I would've been the same.

Waiting a little bit, until the others were distracted, I snuck down the hall and found the room she was in. Putting my ear to the door, I could've sworn I heard a man's voice and became worried. Fumbling silently with the doornob, I tried to open it a crack, but it swung open all the way, and I went tumbling into her room. "Whoa!" I cried as I ended up in a sumersault.

Tori jumped up and turned around quickly, her eyes filled with confusion, worry and anger. I saw her open her mouth as I stood up, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and masking her look. "Yes?" she asked quietly, obviously royally pissed.

Looking behind her, I noticed a hologram of that Jyscal guy, coming from a small sphere that was sitting on a table behind her. Honestly, I didn't know what to say, but I tried. "I...well...It's nothing, really...I...I just, uhh...I'm sorry...I shouldn't have come in. Hey! Wasn't that, that Jyscal Guado guy?" I hoped that changing the subject would discract her.

Looks like it worked. "The sphere is his will...It says 'take care of my son'." she said, looking back at the sphere.

Sadly, it didn't work in my favor. Was this his way of telling her she should marry Lothor? I really hoped not. Every time she mentioned the proposal or anything that suggested that she might accept, I felt like I was dying inside.

"I'm sorry." she said as tears poured down her face, and she took off out of the room before I could even blink.

Not knowing what else to do, since going after her would likely end up with me having my ass handed to me, I snuck towards the sphere, wanting to see for myself just what Jyscal had to say. Call me crazy, but I had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to it than just 'take care of my son'.

Suddenly, two arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me backwards. I was about to beat whoever it was senseless, when Shane's voice reached my ears, sounding highly displeased.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Sighing, I pulled away. "Tori was acting funny, so..."

"Yeah, yeah! She'll tell us when she's ready, so hold your chocobos till then, ya?"

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered. Part of me wondered how he could seem to not care at all, but I realized...he trusted her. He trusted her judgement and he trusted her to take care of herself. It made me realize that I should trust her more too. I knew my Tori well enough that she'd tell me if something was wrong...

...wouldn't she?

We rested the night and decided to leave early the next night. Again I was exhausted, and looking back, I realized I'd been spending pretty much every other night thinking about home and my friends and bro there.

I knew that in our world, Tori wouldn't think twice about refusing a proposal from Lothor, so what was so different here? Was it her memories swaying her Or...was it something more? Maybe, something worse. Would I have to bear witness to her marriage to our enemy?

Honestly, it made me sick to my stomach, and I felt dead inside at the prospect.

Gathering with the others, I noticed Dustin looked just as scared as before. "It's not stopping, is it?" he asked hesitantly, his face a deathly pale.

Cam raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "Don't tell me you honestly thought it would?" Sighing, he shook his head. "Fine. Stay here."

Glaring at him, Dustin walked over to join our group. "All right, already! You didn't have to say it like that, you know! You could be more comforting or something! You know, try to cheer me up?" He noticed the rest of us walking out and groaned. "You just don't get me at all, do you? Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Running after us, he walked boldly out into the storm. "I'm _not_ scared! I'm not scared, you hear?!" he cried, chasing after us.

We made it most of the way through the second half of the thunder plains when Tori suddenly stopped. The look on her face was one of great pain, but she held herself defiantly and looked into our eyes one after the other. "Everyone...wait." she said firmly.

Shane looked at her in worry. "What's up?"

"I have something to tell you." she said softly as she looked to the ground.

Hunter raised an eyebrow and looked around. "Here?"

I got the idea of what he was saying. We weren't safe here, and we were soaked to the bone, getting more soaked by the second.

"We're almost out of here! Let's go!" Dustin insisted frantically as he looked around wildly.

"I have to say this now!" Tori almost cried, her face shooting up to show just how desperate she was.

Cam looked around and noticed some ruins nearby that would give us shelter from the rain and wind, as well as protect us from stray lightning bolts. "There." he said simply, pointing to the shelter.

Walking over to it, I noticed I was immediately warmer out of the wind and gave a relieved sigh as I stood and looked at Tori patiently. A part of me knew, my worst fears were becoming realized.

"I've decided to marry." Tori said quietly.

It was in that moment, I felt my heart break into two. The pain was almost enough to bring me to my knees and I had a hard time breathing. I wanted to cry, and at that moment, wished we were still outside, so I could do so freely, without fear of the others noticing and realizing why. I wanted to scream at her, but knew it wouldn't help. Numbness quickly overcame my body, and I willingly gave in. Anything so I wouldn't have to feel this pain any more.

"I thought so." Hunter said quietly, bringing another jolt of pain through me.

He thought she'd say yes? How...? Why...? I couldn't even _think_!

"B-But why'd you change your mind?" Shane asked in shock, and I wondered if maybe, I had an ally in him.

"For Spira's future...and Yevon's unity. I thought it would be the best thing to do." Tori explained, but I think we could all hear that she was holding a lot back.

Cam shook his head and looked disappointed. "That's not good enough." he said grimly.

That made my head spin to him. Was he on my side? Did he not want her to marry Lothor like me?

Hunter frowned. "Wait, is it...because of Lord Jyscal?"

I felt my eyes widen. "Hey! That sphere!" I cried, remembering the strange sphere. She hadn't made up her mind until she watched it. Actually, she looked determined to refuse him until she watched it.

"Show me." Cam all but ordered, walking up to Tori.

She shook her head. "I can't. I must speak with Maester Lothor first. I truly am sorry, but this is...it is a private matter."

_Like hell!_ I thought angrily, refusing to look at her. She was breaking my heart, and hurting her Guardians because of it, it was no longer a 'private' matter as far as I was concerned.

"Y-You're kidding, ya?" Shane put in incredulously.

"As you wish." Cam said with a shrug.

I felt totally betrayed at that point. I knew she didn't intend to hurt me, but she did, and Cam was giving up so easily?

"I'm sorry."

"Just one question."

Shaking her head, she gave him a determined look. "I won't quit my pilgrimage."

He nodded. "Then it is...fine."

I couldn't take it anymore. Turning to Cam, I glared at him. "Wait a minute Cam! You don't care? I mean, you're not going to stop her?"

He looked back steadily. "No, I'm not. As long as she is willing to face Sin, all else is her concern. That is a Summoner's privelege. As long as she journeys."

"But that's..." I wanted to yell 'that's not right!' or 'that's not fair!' but I knew...I was just being selfish. But then...wasn't that what she was doing? I really didn't want to think about it.

Shane shook his head. "Okay, I guess." he agreed hesitantly.

Hunter remained silent, and if nothing else, I knew at least _he_ was on my side.

"Tori..." Dustin started. A crash of thunder interrupted him and he glared at the sky. "Quiet!" He yelled at it, before turning sad eyes on our Summoner again. "I wish we could help somehow, some way."

"It's ok...I'll be fine." she insisted with a small smile.

_It's ok, I'll be fine._

Why did I feel like she was lying again? Why didn't I trust her words? I wanted to trust her, to give her space, but it hurt so much. Honestly, I didn't feel like I belonged there, with them, but I had no where else to go.

Walking to the edge of Macalania woods, I hung back, and to my surprise, so did Tori.

"Blake, I'm sorry." she almost whispered. "Don't think I want to do this, because I don't. But...I have to. Please understand, I know what I'm getting myself into."

"Do you?" I shot back quietly, glaring at the path in front of us. I felt bad for being so harsh, but she obviously didn't realize what she was doing to me.

She nodded, still not looking at me. "I don't love him. I love..." She trailed off and sighed. "I don't love him. Just please...I'm begging you to understand. I _have_ to do this!"

With that, she ran off to catch up to the others, making me wonder _why_ she felt she _had_ to do this. It hurt, I wouldn't deny that, but hearing her say she didn't love him, it made me feel a little better...maybe.

"Once we get to the temple, Tori wil speak to Lothor. We Guardians will wait for her, and meet up after. Then we'll plan our next move." Cam ordered from the front of the group.

Everyone agreed but me. I didn't disagree, but at the same time, I couldn't bring myself to say anything. as it was, I was fighting the urge to run away. Head to Zanarkand myself and find a way home. Leave Tori to do what she wanted, but Lulu's words came back to me.

_She'll need your strength._

Was this what she meant? I really didn't know if I had enough strength for myself, let alone Tori too.

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Hmmm...interesting.

Hope you liked this.

R+R please.

Thanks.

Tenshi


	20. Macalania and a Gift

**Disclaimer** : I don't own PRNS or FFX.

**Note** : Hey, did anyone else get confused with this chapter, or was it just me? I was seriously lost with this and did things I have no idea why I did them. I just hope it works out. I no longer have any idea where I'm going with this or who it'll work out. I'm playing it all by ear.

Things are getting bad for the group, but they have yet to get worse before they get better.

Also, for a brief section in the Macalania woods, I went off topic for a bit. I hope you'll still like this.

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(Macalania Woods)

As we stepped foot into the shining ice and crystal forest of Macalania, I looked around, my mind not registering what I was seeing. I think, I was still lost about everything, because seeing this place, I should've been in awe, but...I wasn't.

From everything I'd seen, the glowing sunset at Kilika, the peaceful sunset at Mi'ihen, to the calm waters dotted with moonlilies of Moonflow, this place outdid them all. For a place that looked to be made up of ice, it was surprisingly warm.

Trees, bushes, grass and flowers went on for what looked like miles in every direction, but the one we had come from. The thing is, instead of normal wooden trees, and lush green plants, everything was in multiple shades of blue and white, and looked to be made up of ice and crystal, sparkling from the light of the star-filled sky, with the full moon looking down on us. The path we walked along, crunched below us, and I looked down to see that we were walking on crushed ice, making the path sparkle like newly fallen snow.

To say this place was beautiful...I had a hard time believing we were even there.

I noticed Dustin didn't seem scared anymore, since we left the thunder plains, and he smiled as he spun around, checking out the sights.

Moving up a bit farther, and I noticed the occassional giant bulb that glowed a soft pinkish-purple and slightly illumiated the place, shining rainbows off the trees and bushes.

Shane smiled and shook his head as he stayed near Tori, Hunter looked relaxed, but otherwise, not overly impressed, and Cam didn't seem to notice it at all.

Tori on the other hand, she looked ready to cry. Happy, sad, angry and scared. Ever since that damn proposal, her face has been cycling through those emotions repeatedly. She looked around the place with an expression on her face that clearly said she never wanted to leave, but at the same time, she picked up her pace to get through it faster.

Walking slowly along the path, I knew I was lagging behind, but could they really blame me? The woman I loved was about to accept a marriage proposal from them man we both hated. She was about to agree to marry the man who killed my parents! I didn't know how I should feel about that, but blinding rage moved sluggishly through my body, throwing me on edge to the point that I was jumping at every noise.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I noticed Cam falling behind to walk beside me. "There is a rumor that the ice Aeon, Shiva, created this forest a millenia ago. It was a normal wood until she came to live here, and it was her mere presence that brought this place to life. Freezing everything, the place didn't die like expected, but flourished." Looking at me, I'm sure I had an expression on my face that clearly stated I wasn't interested, because he chuckled and shook his head.

"You're worried about Tori." he stated and asked at the same time.

Raising my eyebrow, I glared at him a moment before sighing and looking away. As much as what she was doing hurt me, I didn't have the right to take it out on my friends, and I knew it. "'Course I'm worried about her. What is she thinking?"

"The simplist answer would be...in exchange for agreeing to marry him...she hopes to negotiate with Lothor."

Frowning, I thought about that, but... "Negotiate what?"

He shrugged and looked ahead to where the others stood at the base of a tree with a long path curving back farther into the woods, and a glimmering path that rose into the sky next to it. "I wonder." he said distractedly.

I too was distracted. Staring at the glimmering path, it looked like it was made of glass. To be honest, it reminded me of the saying about following a rainbow, because the way it rose to disappear into the treetops, and the way it was transparent and glittering with a multitude of colors...it was no normal path to say the least.

Forcing myself to focus. I stopped and turned to Cam, who stopped beside me. "What? All by herself?"

"She's strong, but Lothor's a better negotiator."

_No shit. He managed to somehow convince Tori, who hates his guts, to marry him. I'd say that was some negotiating!_ I thought darkly, glaring at him. Raising an eyebrow, I folded my arms across my chest. "Well then, why don't we do something about it?"

"Tori wants it this way."

Somehow, I doubted that. It was like I could feel her screaming for me to save her. To keep Lothor away from her and save her from him, but I didn't know how. It was all like a bad dream. She was in danger and being pulled away from me, and no matter how fast I ran, she slowly faded from sight. "I just don't get it!" I cried, thankful we were far enough away that the others wouldn't hear me. "Doesn't she trust us?"

"On the contrary...She doesn't want us to get caught up in whatever it is that she's planning."

I could tell Cam was trying toreason with me, and ok, I'll admit I could see his point...to a degree, but I still wouldn't give up. "Yeah, that's what I thought. But that makes me worry even more. She could just tell us." I muttered, lowering my head and fighting back tears.

Cam sighed and shook his head. "That's the way she is. She's naive, serious to a fault, and doesn't ask for help."

I felt a smirk tug at my lips and let it out, feeling a little better, but not much. "You're probably right."

"She's easy to read." he shot back, smirking a bit.

I nodded. "Yeah, she is." _To a point. _I've known her a while and sometimes I still can't figure her out.

"But hard to guard. Stand by her, always."

That was similar to what Lulu had said. It hit me that as much as having her marry Lothor hurt, she still needed me. Maybe it was twisted logic, but I was too confused to think straight at the moment.

"Slowpokes!" Dustin called as we finally reached them.

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Dustin. "Sorry." I told him.

It was amazing how calm I felt. Maybe...it was because I realized that Tori wasn't marrying Lothor for love. Not really. It was just her duty...something she had to do before she could continue her pilgrimage. I think...that's what I kept telling myself, anyway.

Looking to Tori, I nodded. "Tori, let's go."

Heading down the long ground path, I realized that as far as we went, the ice never faded, and coming into contact with it didn't cause it to melt. Going further into the forest, it began to get cooler, and I was getting uncomfortable, but I pushed it aside and kept going.

All too soon, we heard the sound of footsteps from around a nearby bend in the road, and a moment later, Tommy came running into view, his ponytail swinging behind him as he ran and his brown eyes full of panic.

"Hey!" he called, seeing us. "Have you seen Kimberly?"

I don't think I'd ever seen anyone panic so much, and was half tempted to tell him he was better off without her, but opted to be serious and honest. ""Kimberly? Can't say I have." I answered.

Shane crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head. "What's up?"

"We got separated on the way here. Damn it all! I've got to find her!" he cried, looking around wildly.

"Calm down." Cam ordered firmly.

Looking at him, Tommy shook his head. "But if anything happens to her..."

"Running around in a panic is not going to help." Cam cut in. "Right now, you have to keep cool and search."

"But-"

"Guard your emotions, then guard your Summoner."

Sighing, Tommy lowered his head. "You're right."

Nodding, Cam looked around slowly. "Shall we search?"

Shaking his head, Tommy gave a weak smile. "No, I've taken up enough of your time. Thank you Sir Cam." Bowing, he ran off down the path, back the way we came.

Dustin took a few steps after him, an unreadable look on his face, but then stopp and sighed.

"Somethin' wrong?" Shane asked him worriedly.

Panic crossed his features for a split second before he masked his face and shook his head. "No. I just wanted to wish him good luck." he said quickly.

I once again found myself wonder what it was he was hiding. I even began to find myself wondering if I could trust him, but instantly scolded myself for thinking like that.

As we progressed further into the woods, we came across two paths. One I knew would lead us to the temple, and the other faded into another transparent pathway that lifted into the sky, making me wonder if this one, and the one from before, were connected. Maybe, it was like a shortcut or something.

Suddenly, Cam stopped. "Wait. There is something here you may wish to see."

Frowning, I looked at the others who all looked as confused as I felt. Well, they all looked confused, but Tori looked a little scared too.

"What's here?" I asked as he looked towards what could've once been a path, but was currently blocked by a fallen ice tree.

"Something." was all he said. By the tone of his voice, it sounded like even _he_ was unsure of what he was doing, but determinedly, he walked up to the fallen tree.

"But Sir Cam..." Tori put in, obviously looking to continue.

He turned and looked at her, before nodding. "This won't take long." Turning back to the fallen tree, he grabbed his sword, shrugging his jacket off his shoulder, and swung, bringing down the tree even further and splitting it doen the center, causing it to fall away and reveal a path.

As we walked through, we arrived at what looked like a pond of some sort. The water was shallow and glistened from the lights of those giant bulbs and the stars, and there was a large tree in the center of it, that the water flowed around. It was clearly a breathtaking sight, but I had a feeling we were here for more than just taking in the scenery.

"This place...it's just water, isn't it?" I honestly didn't see the importance of bringing us here. It looked to be a shallow pond, and was beautiful to look at, but why bring us here? What importance did this place have?

Cam shook his head. "This is what spheres are made of. It absorbs and preserves people's memories." he informed us.

I still didn't get it. I understood the sphere part. I mean, I've held a sphere before, and seen how it looked like a crystal shell holding water inside, but still...what did it have to do with the pilgrimage?

Hearing a bubbling sound, we all looked forward, seeing a large section of the water steam and then lift up to form a large sphere, easily big enough to hold at least two of us inside completely. It had a glowing center and took on an almost jelly-like appearance as it solidified somewhat, and hovered in the air in front of us.

"What's that?" Shane asked, grabbing his blitzball.

The rest of us armed ourselves as well, Dustin readying his claw and grinning, Tori grabbing her staff and beginning casting protective magics on us, Hunter immediately readying his black magic, though pausing because he didn't know what element to use, me grabbing my thunder blade and dodging an attack, and Cam grabbing his sword and taking a step back.

"Fiends are also attracted by theses places." Cam said easily. "Becareful with this one. It's a Spheremorph. It can change it's element, indicated by the color it glows."

The fiend briefly glowed a yellow before forming a column of water and quickly hovered over Dustin, slamming down on him and forcing him to his knees, before it moved back and assumed it's sphere shape.

"Damn that thing hit's hard!" Dustin whined as he held his stomach. Glaring at the monster, he grabbed a grenade. "Meanie!" he yelled, pulling the pin and tossing the grenade at it.

Hunter rolled his eyes before casting watera on the fiend. Raising his hand again, he quickly jumped out of the way of another of those pillar attacks and cast a second watera before it could counter.

Tori ran over to Dustin who was staggering and cast cura on him, healing a large gash on his side, and a bruise on his left arm. Closing her eyes for a moment, she cast a protect on him as well, before moving to Hunter.

Shane threw his blitzball at the creature, and jumped up to catch it on the rebound, getting hit by a powerful thundara spell and knocked down, struggling to rise again. Tori quickly cut off the spell she was casting on Cam to run over and heal him quickly before he could get hit again, and then ran back over to resume her previous spell.

Cam ran forward, slicing at the glowing core of the monster, and causing it's shape to change into something unidentifyable for a moment before it turned back into a sphere. Jumping back, he turned his head to see Tori casting protect and haste on him.

I ran forward and sliced at the same spot as Cam had, hoping to open up a weak point, but got hit when it did the pillar attack on me. Falling to my knees, i grunted in pain and held my side as I leaned on my blade. Managing to get to my feet, I stumbled back and collapsed again. Looking up, I saw it raring to attack me again, but knew i wouldn't be able to move in time. That's when Hunter interferred.

"Blake!" he cried, grabbing me and pushing me aside, only to take the hit himself and collapse in an unmoving heap on the ground.

I could only stare in shock as this other version of my brother just took an attack for me. _No..._ "HUNTER!" I yelled, feeling pain radiate through my body. Crawling over to his prone form, I reached into my pouch, looking for a phoenix down, and realizing...I had none. We'd used them all up in the other battles.

Seeing Tori standing above him, I looked up to see her eyes closed and a glowing white light surround her. "I've got you." she murmured as the light intensified and poured into Hunter's unconscious body. A moment later, and he gasped loudly as his back arched. He immediately sat up and got into a standing position, staggering slightly and blinking for a moment.

"We could use a little _help_ over here!" Dustin called out, staggering from a blow he took.

Looking at Hunter, I saw him look at me and relief flooded his face, before he turned and angrily snarled at the sphere. Raising his hand, he turned to Cam. "What color did it switch to?" he asked in a cold and deadly voice.

"White." he answered quickly, dodging an attack.

That meant, it's shell was protected against ice, and weak against fire.

Nodding, Hunter turned back to the monster, and he closed his eyes for a moment, opening them to reveal that they were glowing an eerie orange. "The flame consumes all!" he snarled, throwing the highest level fire spell I'd ever seen before at it.

I guessed he'd made it to the third level spells. Then, that must've been a firaga.

It seemed, that final attack was all it needed, and the sphere began rapidly changing colors as it's form shifted multiple times and steam began rising from it's body. Slowly, it began to sink back into the water, and pyreflies exploded from it's body as it faded away.

"Finally!" I huffed as Tori went around healing everyone.

Cam seemed to ignore everyone as he walked towards where the Spheremorph was and bent down. retrieving an object, he came back to us and held it out. Seeing what it was, I felt my jaw drop in recognition.

"That's..." I trailed off as I looked to Tori who looked about as shocked as I felt.

"The Fayth left it here for Tori." Cam explained. "I am unsure why, but I believe it might be important."

Slowly reaching out, her hand hesitated above the small piece of technology in her Guardian's hand before she slowly took it, holding it close to her and looking at it with wide blue eyes, filled with shock and confusion.

"They said you are not to use it before it is time and that you'd know when the time was right." he finished as he walked back towards the path. "We should get going."

I could only watch her in shock as she wrapped the band around her wrist and stared at it a moment before pulling her long, flowing sleeve over it and closing her eyes, inhaling and exhaling shakily.

"You ok?" I asked softly, cringing inwardly. Obviously she _wasn't_ ok, but it seemed to be the only thing I could think of asking.

Tori opened her eyes and looked at me a moment before nodding with a sigh. "I just...never expected it to come here." she muttered, absently gazing at her wrist.

"I wonder what Cam meant by using it when the time was right?"

Shrugging, she sighed. "I dunno really. I'm just glad no one bagged on me for taking it. I really thought Shane would scold me about accepting 'Al Bhed' technology." she stated with a raised eyebrow and slightly annoyed look as she slipped into her usual, comfortable speech.

"Well after dealing with mine, I think he's a little better about it, but you'll probably have to answer lots of questions about it later. _Especially_ since Dustin doesn't know about it."

"_Joy_." she muttered sarcastically. "I think I'd rather marry..." she trailed off as her face paled and she shook her head with tears coming to her eyes.

Being reminded of the painful subject, I shook my head and stood up, heading towards the path. "Come on, the other's are waiting. Let's get this over with." I muttered bitterly, pushing the pain in my body away and ignoring it as I joined up with the rest of the group.

(Tori's POV)

As he left, I felt my heart constrict. Ever since I chose to marry Lothor, I knew I was making the wrong choice, and somehow, I felt I was putting myself in danger, but I didn't have a choice. Sadly though, no one knew my motivation for changing my mind and accepting. They all seemed to think it was because I was worried about Spira's unity, but that wasn't the case at all.

It was because of Jyscal's sphere.

Yes, as I told them, he asked me to take care of his son, but there was so much more.

Leaning against a tree stump, I craned my neck to look in the direction Blake had disappeared. _Oh Blake. I wish I could tell you. God! You have _no_ idea how bad this is hurting me! Do you honestly think I _want_ to marry Lothor, when it's _you_ that I love?_

Feeling tears streaming down my cheeks, I let out a broken sob, feeling the pain coursing through my veins.

"I wanna tell you Blake." I muttered quietly. Looking at my wrist, I felt torn. "I don't want this." But again, part of me knew I had to do it.

As much as the thought of marrying that murdering monster made me sick to my stomach, I had to go through with it. It was the only way to save Spira.

Everyone worried about Sin, but no one knew of the hidden monster in their masses. No one could see or feel the evil like I did. Spira may have been in danger from Sin, but there was so much more to it than that. There was an even worse threat.

Looking to the sky, I closed my eyes, allowing myself to cry for the moment as I felt the unbearable pressure build up in my chest. "Please...tell me there's another way. I can't go through with this." I hissed quietly, turning my face to the ground and wiping my eyes with the heels of my hands. _I can't go through with this but...I have to. Please Blake, help me. I need your strength._

With that final mental plea, I sighed, wiping my face of the last trails of tears, and walking back to meet the others, giving them a weak smile when they turned questioning gazes on me.

Dustin walked over as the others turned and began walking away. "You don't have to do this." he said quietly, gripping my hands in his with a sad look in his eyes.

Shaking my head, I smiled again, a genuine one from his concern. "Yes, I have to." _You have no idea what's at stake if I don't._

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I didn't want to end it here, but it was getting long enough. Hope you liked this. The little Blake/Tori bit in the spring was off topic and I hope you liked it anyways. I think it was a little angsty, but I fully intend to have them have their happy ending, if I have to tie them up together and throw them in the center of the moonflow!

Also...there's a _**SLIM**_ chance of a sequel, depending on if I can write it, since it's so totally different from what I'm currently working on.

Anyways...Thanks everyone for the encouragement. Sorry it took a couple days to update, but lots of thunderstorms interrupted, and I wanted to upload a couple of chapters at the same time, so I'm waiting a bit.

I might not updat this fic everyday, but you can usually count on an update in a day or two...if it's longer, it's due to computer or site problems, or that I'm REALLY busy with something REALLY important, but _that_ doesn't happen often.

I know, I know. I need a life. LOL.

Hope you like this.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	21. Macalania Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

**Note** : Well, we're getting on in the story. Have I started to bore any of you yet? I really hope not. I bet you all know just what Tori got in the previous chapter, huh? I tried to make it a surprise, but I know I could've done better. If you figured it out, great! If not, you'll find out soon.

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(Blake's POV)

When Tori came out from the small pond, I was shocked to find that she'd been crying. I saw the suspicious glare Shane sent me, and the sympathetic look Hunter shot me, but chose to ignore them as I focused on her.

Seeing her red eyes, it made me realize that her decision to marry Lothor, wasn't just hurting me and the rest of our friends, but her too. Maybe it was even hurting her more than me.

That thought brought a pang of guilt to me, making me realize I'd been less than kind to her since I found out. I was being rash and hurting her, just because I was hurting. I was so terrified of losing her, I was pushing her away with my words and actions, lashing out at her for no reason.

It also brought her words to mind.

_I have to do this._

It made me wonder just _why_ she had to do it. What was so bad, she'd go through all this just to...what? What was she planning? Why couldn't she tell us?

Lost in my thoughts, I failed to notice when we stepped out of the forest and into an icy land with biting cold winds. Shivering, I looked up and noticed a small travel agency in front of us. I noticed that no one else even paid it mind as they passed by it. Soon, we came to an icy path, and stopped when we noticed Tromell was waiting for us.

Seeing us, he ran over with a big smile and bowed to Tori, who subtly hid her one arm slightly behind her back. "Lady Tori. We've been expecting you. We were surprised you decided to come so soon." he gushed with a huge smile.

Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at the man and shivering in the cold winds. _I'll bet you were surprised._ I thought sarcastically. If you asked me, this all seemed too convenient to me. Something was definitely up, and I smelled a rat.

"Pleasantly surprised of course. Lord Lothor sends his apologies for having left without notice." he continued on, seemingly oblivious to the glare he was getting, of the way Tori shifted uncomfortably.

Nodding, Tori seemed to sigh silently. "It's quite all right. I have one question, if I may." she said evenly, keeping her voice steady and sweet.

"My Lady?"

"I want to keep journeying, even if I marry. Do you think that Maester Lothor would let me?"

He nodded vigorously. "But of course, my Lady. Lord Lothor wishes for nothing else, I'm sure." he insisted pleasantly.

Turning back to us, Tori's eyes were filled with tears, but with a deep breath, she stood up straight and nodded. "Goodbye." she said, sadness ringing loudly in her forlorn voice.

"Well...we must follow Guado traditions. I'll have to ask you to wait here a little while longer. I'll send someone to escort you." Tromell put in with a hasty bow.

Why didn't I like the sound of his voice? This suddenly seemed to go from a bad dream to a horrible nightmare, and I felt helpless to save the woman I loved from certain doom. I shivered again, but this time, it wasn't from the cold. I had a really bad feeling something was going to happen.

As Tromell walked off, Tori opened her mouth and sighed. "I..."

Cam nodded his head. "We're all with you. Do as you will."

"Thank you." With that final goodbye, Tori walked off, joining Tromell on another section of the ice, a large field of it below us.

Turning to me, Cam bowed his head and gave me a look that clearly said I'd missed something. "Sorry. That was your line." he stated, hinting that I was supposed to say something before she left.

Overcome with the feeling that I _had_ to talk to her, or do _something_, I ran to the edge of the path, seeing her crossing the ice, and called to her. "Tori!" When she turned my way, I placed my fingers in my mouth and let out a shrill whistle, slightly relieved when she gave me a bright smile and nodded.

"Yessir!" she called back before continuing on.

All of a sudden, I found Dustin by my side, looking down over the frozen lake with a frown and wide eyes. Looking in the same direction, I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw a small group of Al Bhed, and a giant machina come rushing towards Tori.

"Oh, no!" Dustin cried.

Shane came running up to stand beside us and glared at the men. "Al Bhed!' he yelled angrily.

Gathering ourselves together, we ran down to to the frozen lake and formed a half circle in front of Tori and Tromell, guarding them from the Al Bhed and their wayward machina.

Tromell bowed when he saw us, giving a relieved sigh. "Thank you." he said gratefully.

Tori nodded and grabbed her staff, rushing away from his side and joining us as the Al Bhed grew closer.

"Lad Tori!" Tromell protested, before sighing once he saw that she wouldn't be swayed.

The leader of the group of Al Bhed, a man woth a blonde mowhawk and goggles, stepped forward to sneer at the group, before his eyes settled on Dustin. "Dustin! Tuh'd ehdanvana un oui kad drec! Ouin bnaleuic yht Aeons yna caymat! (Dustin! Don't interefere, or you get this! Your precious magic and Aeons are sealed!)" he cried, pointing to the large machina that started bouncing jerkily, up and down, as sparks flew from random joints and it buzzed to life.

"Oh, no." Dustin repeated his earlier phraze.

I noticed the others looking at him in confusion, remembering that Shane didn't know what he was, and that the others, like me, didn't understand the language. All I'd been able to pick up was, Dustin's name and the word 'Aeons'. Turning to Dustin, I raised an eyebrow. "Translation?"

Turning to me, he gulped nervously, and shook his head. "He's gonna use an anti-magic field on us!"

_THAT_...didn't sound good! That meant that if we had to fight this thing, we'd have to use hand to hand combat and items. It's a good thing Dustin stole a few good things, because from the looks on their faces, we were going to have to fight.

"Kad dras! (Get them!)" he yelled, and the machina rolled forward, buzzing and jerking as it came to a stop in front of us. Seeing that it would keep us busy, and seeming no possible way to escape it, they left us there to fight it.

Grabbing my blade, I was tempted to morph, but with Tromell there, a servant in direct service to Lothor, I didn't want him to know that I could. It was an advantage, I wanted to keep secret.

Hunter raised his hands quickly, casting Thundaga on the machina, as Shane hit it with his blitzball. It fell back a step before jerkily moving back to it's original position.

I ran forward at the same time as Cam and together we attacked it with our weapons. I spun around, hitting it twice, before jumping into the air, using the machina to kick myself off to get more height, and impaled it with my blade, before flipping off it, hitting it once again. Running back to my spot, I noticed Cam shooting me an impressed look but ignored it as I jumped out of the way.

Tori took the open chance to use her magic and cast protact on us all one by one, as Dustin threw a grenade at it.

It was just in time too, because a moment later, and a small object shot out of the machina, flying in the air over it.

"That's a negator!" Dustin called. "Our magic's useless!"

"Then attack it with everything you've got!" Cam shouted to me. Dustin turned his back to the thing as he crouched down and mixed together a grenade and a lightning gem, like he did outside of Guadosalam, but this time, he added a second lightning gem to the mix.

As he prepared that, I ran forward, slicing the machina with my blade and kicking myself away from it, just as it swung a metallic leg out to hit me.

Cam nodded to Dustin as I jumped out of the way, and he stood up, spinning around and throwing the new item at the machina, hitting it dead on. Explosions of lightning ran over the thing, and bolts shot out of the sky, and blew pieces off of it. The attack also hit the negator, and destroyed it, freeing our magic once again.

"Hunt, you're up!" Shane called as he hit it with his blitzball.

Nodding, Hunter ran forward and cast a thundaga spell on it, bringing it down and we watched as it glowed a vibrant red before it collaped to the ground and stopped moving.

Tromell came running up to Tori. "My Lady!"

Nodding, she turned and bowed slightly to us, before walking off with him. I felt my heart constrict and wished she wouldn't go. I wanted to stop her...to tell her how I felt, but before I could even think on it...We were interrupted.

The leader of the Al Bhed group came back to the nearby ridge and glared at us all, moslty Dustin. "Dustin! E femm damm vydran! (Dustin! I will tell father!)" he shouted.

Glaring right back, Dustin walked forward and shook his head. "E ys dra Guardian uv Tori, oui caa? Tori ec cyva! Fa femm kiynt ran! Cra ec cyva! (I am the Guardian of Tori, you see? Tori is safe! We will guard her! She is safe!)" he shouted back.

Wincing a bit, I knew the others had heard that and worried about Shane's reaction. There was no way he could possibly ignore that, which meant, I'd probably have to listen to him complain about being lied to, that Dustin was an Al Bhed, and that we all knew about it.

"Oui tu drec ymuha, pnudran! (You do this alone, brother!)" he hissed as he turned and ran away.

Sighing, Dustin looked down as Shane and the others came over. "I told him I was a Guardian. Well, I guess I had to, really." he sighed again, looking really hurt. Frowning, I wondered what that guy had said to him to hurt him so deeply.

Shane crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Dustin cluelessly. "How come you speak Al Bhed?"

Looking over at him, Dustin raised an eyebrow. "Because I'm Al Bhed." he said simply with a shrug. "And that...was my brother."

I winced again, suddenly understanding all too well the pain Dustin was probably feeling. The look in that man's eyes was one of such anger, and sadly, I recognized it from the time Hunter had been brainwashed into believing I was a traitor. That I betrayed him. I saw the same anger and hurt in his eyes that time, and the words he spat, though he didn't mean them, hurt me deeply.

So yes, I honestly understood perfectly, just how bad Dustin was hurting, even if he tried to hide it behind a mask.

Shane looked at all of us, and none of us bothered to deny it, or hide that we knew. The hurt and confsed look on his face made me cringe slightly, but otherwise, we all remained impassive. "You knew?" he asked, his voice ringing with such hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We knew you'd be upset." Hunter answered with a sad smile.

He chuckled dryly and glared at Dustin. "That's great." he said sarcastically. "I can't believe I've been travelling with an Al Bhed. A heathen!" he spat angrily.

Glaring right back, Dustin got up into his face. "That's not true!" he spat back. "You're wrong! We have _nothing_ against Yevon!!"

Spluttering for a moment, he looked taken back by that, but got over it quickly. "But you Al Bhed use forbidden machina! You know what that means? Sin was born because of people using machina!"

Raising his eyebrow, Dustin took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. "You got proof? Show me proof!" he demanded as he continued to stare the man down.

"It's in Yevon's teachings!" he shouted. "Not that you'd know anything about that!" he finished in a disgusted hiss.

Shaking his head, Dustin gave a snort. "That's not good enough! Yevon says this, Yevon says that! Can't you think for yourself?"

I began thinking about what was being said. Everything Shane said made sense, but so did what Dustin said. There was no proof that machia was the cause of Sin's birth. It's all legends, rumors and heresay. Everyone said that Al Bhed were different, heathens, but were they really? Dustin just admitted to having nothing against Yevon. His beliefs were different, but was it really bad enough that he should be considered an enemy?

Then, I began to wonder why the Al Bhed kept attacking us. First kidnapping Tori in Luca, then trying to kidnap her at the Moonflow, then here in Macalania. What's next?

"Well then, you tell me! Where does Sin come from?" Shane demanded shaking his head and still glaring at the Al Bhed across from him.

Hunter sighed and put a hand to his head as he shook it. Looking to Cam, he noticed the smirk on his face and raised an eyebrow before turning back to the feud.

"I...I don't know." Dustin quietly admitted, looking down.

Pointing at him, Shane laughed triumphantly. "Hah! You bad-mouth Yevon and that's all you can come up with?"

"But...that doesn't mean you should do whatever they say without thinking! Nothing will ever change that way!"

He had a point. Here, I was sent to try thinking outside the box. To find a different way to beat Sin, but if Shane wouldn't cooperate, how could I? I was sent here to help change things. Then, it hit me. What I was told before by the Fayth, I was going to be sent some help. Looking to a defiant Dustin who seemed to refuse to give up his beliefs, I wondered, was he the one to help me? Was he the one sent to help me find a way to kill Sin forever?

Nothing has to change." Shane said sternly.

Shaking his head, Dustin kept on glaring. "You want Sin to keep coming back? There might be a way to stop it, you know!"

"Sin will be gone once we atone for our past mistakes."

Sighing, Dustin pointed at Shane and walked up to him. "When?" he demaned, looking for an answer. "How?" Groaning in frustration, he threw his hands up, before turning his back on Shane. "Why do I even bother?"

"Dustin!" Cam called.

Everyone turned to find him looking at one of two fallen snowmobiles. I was surprised to find out how much like earth snowmobiles they looked, but hid it as the elder Guardian turned to the curious Al Bhed.

"Will this move?"

Dustin ran over and knelt beside it to check it out, as Shane turned to Cam in shock. "We're not going to use that, are we? Wait...Sir Cam isn't Al Bhed too, is he?"

Part of me want to laugh at that comment. From what I'd learned, Al Bhed were mostly blondes, with Dustin as the exception, and had swirled green eyes. And what's more, they loved the desert and machinas. Cam didn't seem at all like that!

Deciding to change the subject, I turned to Shane. "Come on Shane..."

He glared at me. "What?"

"I mean, getting angry just 'cause you found out Dustin's an Al Bhed...You guys got along just fineuntil now, didn't you?"

"Well that's different..." he trailed off as he hesitated.

"Well, I don't claim to know much about Spira...and I probably know even less about the Al Bhed, but...I know Dustin's a good person. He's just Dustin!"

"Was he one of your friends as well?" Hunter asked softly.

I nodded. "Yeah." Laughing a bit, I shook my head. "The airhead of the group, but still a really good person."

"Hunt?" Shane seemed to be trying to find _someone_ on his side in this.

Raising an eyebrow, he shook his head. "Just think of this as an opportunity to learn more about the Al Bhed."

Groaning in frustration, Shane turned and stalked off. Cam turned to us before we could even blink and slowly shook his head. "Leave him alone. He needs time to think."

"I'm sorry." Dustin sighed, looking down.

Hunter walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "You've done nothing to apologize for." he said firmly.

"All right." I said, looking at the righted snowmobiles. "Let's ride!" As much as I was in a hurry to get to the temple to see Tori, I was also scared of what might meet me, but I was also determined to stand by her.

It was a little akward, seeing as how there were only two snowmobiles and four guys. I guess, even though I kind of felt bad for Shane, it was a good thing he decided to walk. There'd be no way we could fit all five of us onto two snowmobiles.

Well, at least I got the least akward partner. Hunter. As he sat behind me, he held on tight as I started the machina, surprised at how easy it was to drive.

"I hope you're not too mad at Shane." he said from behind me.

"Not at all." I called back. Actually, I kind of understood. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Hunter nod, and decided to ask a question that had been bugging me. "What do you think of Dustin?"

He looked surprised to hear my question, but seemed to think about it. "Me? He's fun to travel with. I...can tell he's a good person." He almost seemed unsure of how to answer my question, as if looking for the _right_ answer, though to me, there really wasn't one. He finally sighed and seemed to give up. "You should know, Shane hates the Al Bhed because his brother went off to fight Sin one day, using an Al Bhed machina weapon that had no effect on it."

"Speaking of Sin...What the hell is it?"

He frowned and shook his head. "No one really knows what Sin is. There's no need to know, so no one asks. You run or you fight. That is really all you can do. There's no sense in brooding over it."

Raising an eyebrow, I grinned. _This? From the king of brooding?_ Shaking my head, I kept with the topic of the discussion. "That's all? I mean, you don't even wonder?"

There was a long pause and I looked over my shoulder to find Hunter looking at me closely, as if really seeing me for the first time. "You really _do_ come from a world where there is no Sin, like you say."

We made it halfway to the temple when Cam caught my eyes and gestured for us to pull over. Doing so, he seemed to sigh, and Dustin jumped off the back of the snowmobile, racing over to us and pulling Hunter up. "We're switching!" he said cheerily as he pushed the black mage lightly towards Cam's nomobile and sat down in his place, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist and making me grimace as I tried to hold my body away from his.

Giving me a helpless and sympathetic look, Hunter shrugged slightly and hopped onto the back of Cam's, and we were off again.

"Listen." I called over my shoulder. "Sorry about Shane."

Dustin pouted. "He didn't have to be so mean, yeah? I almost cried!"

Raising my eyebrow, I pulled myself a little farther away from him. "Uh...Dustin?" _Please don't start crying on me, man._ I mentally pleaded.

He laughed from behind me and moved his arm to swat me lightly before replacing it. "Just kidding!" he chirped. "Hey, do I look at all like Tori?"

My snowmobile swerved slightly as my whole body jumped in shock from that question. I felt my eyes widen and my jaw drop. Thinking about it, I shook my head. Actually, Tori was blonde with blue eyes and a pale complexion, and Dustin was brunette with green eyes and a tanned complexion. So...no...they didn't look alike to me.

He continued on like nothing had happened behind me. "Well my dad's sister was Tori's mom. You get it?"

Blinking for a moment, my mind came up blank before it all came crashing down on me. Dustin was Tori's COUSIN? Trying to act cheerful, I watched the road ahead of me as my grip tightened on the handle bars of the machina. "I had no idea! If you say so. Okay! Then you're guarding family then, right?"

"Tori's not the only one I want to protect. We Al Bhed want to protect all of the Summoners, you know?" he said softly, a deep sadness hidden in his voice. "Summoners are...well, you could say that..."

Before he could finish his sentence, we made it to the temple and parked the machina snomobiles out of sight before grouping up and walking to the entrance of the temple. Turning to Dustin, I gave him a small shrug. "We'll talk about this later." I said, and he hesitated before nodding as he looked at the ground.

We met Shane at the temple, and though he looked somewhat calmer, he made it his mission to avoid and ignore Dustin no matter what.

As we approached the door to enter the temple, the guard stepped in our way and glowered threateningly at Dustin. "Halt! The likes of him are not welcome in this hallowed place." he spat.

Cam shook his head. "He is a Guardian."

The guard laughed. "An Al Bhed, a Guardian? Preposterous!"

"I've decided to become Tori's Guardian now, and that's all I want." Dustin said in a subdued voice.

"And that's all one needs to be a Guardian." Cam finished for him.

After a moment of thinking, the guard nodded hesitantly and allowed them in. "Very well. You may enter."

Looking up to the huge frozen temple as we entered, I took a deep breath. _Hang on Tor. We're here for you._ I silently vowed.

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Wow...longest fic yet. I really hope you like it.

So...what's Tori up to? Why did she decide to marry Lothor after all? You'll find out soon.

R+R please.

Thank you for sticking with me.

Tenshi


	22. Macalania Truths Part 3

**Disclaimer** : Don't own it. Never did and likely never will. Sad but true.

**Note** : So what do you think so far? Checking with the script I'm working along with, I still have a long ways to go. This chapter's called Macalania Truths, because some secrets about Lothor are going to come out.

I also tried really hard with the battles, so I hope you like them. Well, basically, I hope I really didn't do a bad job.

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(Macalania Temple, normal POV)

Once the group made it to the main chamber, they saw several Guado, and the familiar face of Ashely. Seeing them, she smiled and ran up, waving excitedly.

"Ah! There you are! So, Lady Tori is getting married." she said excitedly, bouncing a bit as she clapped her hands together.

Nodding, Blake sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." he mumbled as he looked down.

She stopped boucing around and frowned as she watched his reaction. "You're not excited? You don't sound too happy about it."

Shrugging, he looked back up to her and offered her a weak smile. "Nah. It's complicated." he admitted, not wanting to go into details. Shaking his head, he gave her an apologetic and helpless look before he walked by her, leaving her to stare after him in confusion.

Rejoining the rest of the group, who'd gone on ahead as he talked to Ashley, he looked around, looking for some sign of Tori or...as much as he loathed to even think his name, Lothor. "Say, anyone see Tori?"

Ashely came up and nodded. "I believe...she's gone to the cloister of trilas with Maester Lothor."

Nodding to her, the group tried to get into the cloister, only to have a Guado man shake his head and block their path, obviously not going to allow them beyond. Cam opened his mouth to order the man aside, when a loud scream was heard from an ajoining nun's room.

A woman's terrified voice was heard as the nuns ran out. "Lord Jyscal! A sphere in Lady Tori's belongings..."

That's all they needed to hear, and a second later they were in the room and looking at the sphere lying on the floor next to her stuff. Cam walked over first, the others following him, and picked it up, looking at it with a suspicious look.

"This may well answer a few questions." he said quietly as he hit the button to play it.

As he set the sphere on the ground, and everyone crowded around it, a hologram of Jyscal Watanabi appeared. His message...would be one that many of the group both expected, and feared to hear.

"What I am about to tell you, is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honor as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son, Lothor."

If it was at all possible, Blake could swear he saw a frown on the hologram's face, and it only served to make him worry even more for Tori, who was alone with him.

"His mind is closed even to me, a Maester of Yevon, but I can feel flames of darkness, of evil, burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, and even the Summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira."

_Like he did to earth._ Blake thought with a frown and glare. He was _not_ going to let Lothor do to this world, what he did to theirs.

"I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son..."

That brought a series of gasps and shocked cries from the others, but Blake, he somehow already knew. When Cam had mentioned, Jyscal had died an 'unclean death', he already knew what had happened. For him to come back like that, even after a sending, accidents, disasters, natural causes, and Sin, were all crossed off, leaving only murder left in his eyes.

"...but I do not fault him."

_I do._ Blake thought, barely holding back a snarl as he really wanted to leave. He wanted to go through the cloister, and find Tori, but found he couldn't move...bound by the message as it continued.

"Because I was not wise enough, he suffered, and became twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and it's cruelty. I will accept death as punishmnt for my deeds, but to whomever is watching this, I implore you...you must stop Lothor! Stop my son!"

His image faded, and everyone turned bewildered and worried looks on each other.

Cam was the first to speak as he shook his head. "Wonderful." he said sarcastically.

Dustin looked terrified and turned to all of them. "Well Tori be all right?" he asked timidly.

Cam shook his head again and picked up the sphere, pocketing it and moving to the doorway. "Without us, no." he said as he left.

Shane looked at Cam and tilted his head a bit. "Where you goin' ya?"

"You saw, didn't you?" Blake asked with a frown. "Lothor's bad news!" _Like I knew from the beginning!_

"But..." Shane hesitated. "He's a Maester!"

Raising an eyebrow, Blake could understand his fear to a point, but as for the Navy Ranger himself, he had a Summoner to save! "Fine! Stay here if you want!" he spat, walking over to Cam and grabbing his thunder blade.

Dustin followed suite, fixing his metal claw on his arm and frowning with uncertainty.

Looking to Shane, Hunter sighed and joined the others. "Come on Shane. Let's at least go hear him out." he reasoned.

Groaning, he hesitantly nodded and joined the others. "This can't be happening!"

Heading back out into the main room, Cam pushed the Guado guard out of the way and they entered the cloister of trials, navigating it quickly in their rush to get to Tori.

As Cam walked along side of Shane, he shot the man a look with a hint of understanding. "We will protect Tori from anyone. That includes a Maester." he said firmly, but not without a smidgion of compassion.

Shaking his head, Shane held his blitzball tightly. "This can't be happening!" he repeated.

Hunter walked up beside them. "If he is truly at fault, it must be done." he said firmly, his voice ringing soft through the corridors.

Soon enough, they made it to the room just before the chamber of the Fayth, and noticed Lothor and two of his goons waiting for them, but no sign of Tori.

"Lothor!" Blake cried as he held his blade at his side and glared at the man he now hated more than ever. _If he's done anything to Tori..._

Turning to face them, Lothor gave them all a stern look. "Please be quiet. Lady Tori is inside, praying to the Fayth." he scolded slightly.

Glaring even harder, Blake took a firm step closer, bringing his blade closer to him a bit. "Make me!" he snarled.

Lothor took a few steps towards them, when the door behind him opened, and Tori stumbled out, looking at them in confusion.

"Tori!" Blake cried, feeling greatly relieved to see she was all right.

Frowning slightly, she looked into his chocolate brown eyes and sighed. "But why...?"

"We saw Jyscal's sphere." he said firmly, turning his gaze to Lothor once again, where it hardened into a glare that would make most people's blood turn cold.

Cam nodded as he grabbed his sword ans shrugged his jacket off his shoulder. "You killed him." he all but hissed.

Lothor didn't look the least bit fazed, but raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. "What of it?" he asked carelessly. Looking over his shoulder, he fixed Tori with his cool stare as she held her own and stared back. "Lady Tori, certainly you know of these things, do you not? Well then, why are you here?"

"I came..." she trailed off as she moved and stood behind her Guardians, staying close to Blake. "I came to stop you!" she said firmly, glaring at him angrily.

"I see. You came to punish me then. What a pity." Though he acted disappointed, everyone could tell just how fake it was. "Ah, of course. 'Protect the Summoner, even at the cost of one's life'. The Cods of the Guardian. How admirable." He offered a small chuckle as he shook his head and his Guado companions stood by his side. "Well, if you are offering your lives, I will have to take them." he said with a malicious smile and an evil sparkle in his eyes.

Tori shook her head. "Maester Lothor, I trust my Guardians with my life, but they are also my friends. I will not stand by, and watch them be hurt." she said softly, her voice filled with determination. "I will fight you too!" she shouted, grabbing her staff and readying herself.

_That's my Tor!_ Blake thought to himself with a grin. Always determined and a fighter no matter what. He'd missed her. Nodding, he grinned at Lothor. "All right!" he cheered, glad to have the whole group together again.

Shane sighed and frowned as he grabbed his blitzball and held it at his side. "Maester Lothor!" he cried, as though maybe hearing his voice would possibly make the man snap out of the insane trance he was in.

Shrugging, Lothor laughed and his guards grabbed staffs as well. "So be it." he said in a light tone.

Tori immediately began casting protect, shell and haste on the others to protect them from physical and magical damage, and speed them all up. Then she cast another spell. One that created a light purple barrier around them.

One of the Guados raised his staff and shot a powerful thundara spell at them, only to have it bounce off the barrier and hit him instead, bringing him down immediately so that he faded away into pyreflies.

Remembering what Tori had explained to him before, about her spells, this one must've been reflect, bouncing the spell off the shield and back at the caster.

Shane shook his head before throwing his ball at the other Guado, but the man swiftly dodged it and cast a spell on Hunter that made the pruple barrier flare up before breaking through it, causing it to crack and fall apart like shattered glass.

"Dispel." Blake muttered under his breath, attacking Lothor before he could cast a spell. Jumping back to his starting point, he noticed he barely scratched the guy, and frowned. "And magic casters." he muttered as he closed his eyes and concentrated on his own powers. Opening his eyes again, he shot out a powerful bolt of lightning at the second Guado who wasn't able to dodge it, and he too fell to the ground to fade away.

That left Lothor alone, but before anyone could react, he cast dispel on the rest of the group, destroying their shields, and quickly cast a blizzaga, causing most of the group to collapse to their knees.

Feeling a surge of energy flow through him, Blake focused his powers into his blade and ran forward, hitting Lothor hard, and sending him flying into the opposite wall. As he took his time in getting up, he turned his attention to the others and grabbed a high-potion for Hunter who smiled and nodded his thanks, as Tori healed Shane.

"Lucky hit." Lothor muttered a he got back to his feet. Glaring at the group, he raised his hands to the sky. "Feel my pain! Come Anima!" he called.

Blake felt his face go pale as he remembered the giant Aeon at Luca that had destroyed the fieds, and turning his head, he noticed Tori was having the same reaction.

The ground shook violently, causing the group to stumble as they sought to keep their balance, and a giant metal anchor fell from the sky, digging deeply into the ground. A moment later, and it retracted, bringing with it, the undescribable Aeon that towered over them all.

Turning to Tori, Blake nodded. "Tori! The new Aeon!" he called. She gave him a raised eyebrow and slight glare for ordering her around before nodding in return and closing her eyes, bringing her staff to her chest.

"Oh Fayth, lend me strength." she prayed as she shot both out, away from her sides, and sank to one knee.

Three large ice columns fell, crashing and intersecting in the ground, and a giant blue woman floated down from out of nowhere. Opening her icy blue eyes, she shot her arm out and the ice shattered, flying everywhere and fading away into nothing.

The cloth she'd worn drapped around her shoulders, fluttered to Tori, who held a hand out and caught it. The Aeon was almost naked, except for ice that covered her most private areas, and she had long blue hair.

Remembering back to the Farplane, Blake knew this was Lulu, or Shiva as she was called in Aeon form.

"Shiva, Heavenly strike attack!" Tori called as she stood off to the side, holding the cloth in her outstretched hand.

Nodding, the Aeon leapt forward in a spin as ice covered her hand, and hit Anima dead in the chest, causing a large gash to form.

Lothor just grinned. "Anima, pain attack." he said lightly, not bothering to raise his voice.

The visible eye of the creature glowed red and a light shot out, hitting Shiva and the rest of the group. Shane, Dustin and Hunter fell unconscious, and Tori held her chest as she panted for air. Blake bit his lip to keep from screaming as the pain coursed through his body, but forced himself to remain on his feet. Repeating his earlier attack, he focused his energies into his blade and struck Anima, causing a pained screetch from the creature as Blake ran back to the group.

"Again, Shiva!" Tori called as she knelt beside Hunter and cast a spell that Blake recognized from before. It was life, to bring back knocked out party members.

Going to Dustin, he pulled out a newly acquired phoenixe down and used it, reviving the Al Bhed man and helping him to his feet. _Thanks Dustin for getting these._ he thought gratefully. Just before they'd left to go and fight the machina in the center of the frozen lake, Dustin had gone to the travel agency and spoken to the owner, getting a whole pile of phoenix downs and dividing them up amongst the group.

Turning to Tori who was healing Shane, Blake smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna have to teach me that life spell sometime." he said as he readied himself for battle.

Tori just blushed and ran over, healing his wounds and turning back to Shiva who'd hit Anima again. "It's time." she said softly. "Shiva, Diamond Dust attack!" she called as she motioned for the group to get behind the Aeon.

They did so, and just in time. Shiva raised her hand and brought it down in front of her, opening it to reveal dust in her hands, and blowing on it to cause it to fly out and land all over Lothor and Anima. It turned to thick ice that covered them both, and with a snap of her fingers, the ice shattered, cutting them both up deeply.

Anima let out another screetch and slumped as much as it's chains would allow, fading away with a crystal clear tear falling from it's eye.

Somehow, Blake knew, that Aeon didn't want to fight them.

Lothor glared at them as he panted and struggled to remain on his feet. "That power that defeated Anima...it _will_ be mine!" he cried, casting a firaga spell at Shiva that caused her to slump as well, falling to one knee. She gave Tori a sad look before fading away into pyreflies, and Blake wondered...

...Could Aeons die?

Feeling a jolt run through his body, he frowned. Shaking his head, he focused on the battle as Hunter cast a blizzaga spell on Lothor, Shane attacking in tandem with his blitzball, and Tori casting a cure spell on Dustin who threw a grenade.

Falling to his knees, Lothor groaned in pain. Collapsing completely, he let out a pained sigh, and Tori ran to his side, making Blake frown.

_What's she doing?_ he wondered as he felt a pang of jealousy rear it's ugly head.

"Tori...you would pity me now?" Lothor breathed as his chest slowly stopped rising and falling, and he died right in front of everyone.

That's when Tromell rshed in with two more guards at his side. "Lord Lothor!" he cried as he ran up to the man he idolized. "What has happened?"

Shane fell to his knees and shook his head. "What...what have I done?" he muttered to himself in shock.

"Wait a minute!" Blake demanded, glaring at the shocked man. "It's not our fault at all! Lothor's the one who struck first! It's his fault!" Blake cried, trying to reason with him.

Unfortunately, Tromell overheard and seemed to get the wrong idea. "You did this?" he asked, incredulous and looking betrayed.

"Tori. Send him." Cam said firmly.

Nodding, Tori made her way to Lothor to send him, but the Guado guards got in her way.

Tromell also placed himself between her and the fallen Maester. "No, stop! Stay away from him, traitors!" he shouted.

Shane winced visibly and Dustin looked down. Cam raised and eyebrow and chuckled silently and Blake openly glared at them

The Guado guards picked up Lothor's body and carried him out, obviously not wanting him to be sent. That only served to confused Blake and make him suspicious. Just what were they up to? Or maybe...he _didn't_ want to know.

Tori stared the angry Guado down. "Traitors?" she asked, carefully schooling her voice to sound uncertain and hurt, though she looked about ready to wring the neck of the man in front of her.

"We're finished." Shane groaned as he slowly rose to his feet.

Blake had had just about enough of all this. "Now wait just a minute!" _What the hell's going on here?_ "Lothor's the bad guy, right? We'll just explain to everyone what happened." he reasoned, hoping to cheer up the ex-coach of the Auorchs.

"It won't be that easy." Cam stated. Looking around, he took a step back, towards the exit. "Let's get out of here." he finished calmly.

Tromell raced out ahead of them, and they made their way back through the cloister, soon making it to the main room where a bunch of Guado and Tromell waited for them, staring at them with hatred in their eyes.

"Please..." Tori pleaded, her eyes expressing her exhaustion.

Cam looked at them steadily. "Let us explain."

Shaking his head, Tromell sneered at them. "There's no need. I already know what I am going to tell the other Maesters."

_Probably a bunch of lies._ Blake thought darkly, fingering his blade on his back as he made ready for the attack he knew was coming.

Cam gave him a cold stare and raised his eyebrow. "Meaning...?"

"Maester Lothor was the leader of the Guado before becoming a Maester."

Blake already knew what was coming. "You're not gonna let us go." he said in a flat tone, bringing his thunder blade in front of him as the others prepared for battle as well.

"Let you go?" Chuckling dryly, Tromell shook his head. "Maester Lothor would never forgive us if we did."

Dustin held up his hands. "Wait, wait! Jyscal's sphere! We can show it to them!" he cried.

Tromell held the sphere up in his hands and sneered at them. "You mean this?" Tightening his grip, he crushed the sphere, letting it drop to the ground in a pile of tiny pieces. "The Guado take care of Guado affairs." he said gravely.

"Away!" Cam shouted as the group pushed past the Guados and ran out of the temple.

Running all the way back to the frozen lake, they encountered two Guados and a four armed yeti monster that almost made Blake want to laugh. The thing was covered with white fur, and he really wished he had a camera so that he could take a picture of it.

Fighting the creature was tough, but they managed to beat it. Unfortunately, it punched the lake with it's last vestiges of strength, and caused the ice to crack as it faded away. Before anyone could move, they were tossed into the freezing waters of Lake Macalania, and darkness overcame them.

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Part three of the Macalania section, and I still have more to go. I think the next part though, is going to take place in the next area.

I'm totally lost with this fic, but I'm keeping it up for the reviewers who encouraged me to keep going with this fic.

I want to give special thanks to **JuseaPeterson** who kept me from taking it down when I first put it up, and that you for encouraging me to continue. I'm glad you like this fic.

I also want to give a shoutout to **Pinklen98 **for reviewing every chapter. Sorry about the Tori accepting Lothor's proposal bit, but unfortunately, there's more torture to come. And as a side comment, I totally agree. Lothor/Tori? BIG no no for me! Personally, I see it as a girl marrying her evil grandfather. (Shudders)

**ThunderBrosRule27**, I was thinking of how you reviewed my other story and mentioned the brotherly love, while I was writing this fic, so I kept it in mind after you mentioned it. I hope to have Blake and Hunter have a _somewhat_ brotherly relationship in here. Thanks.

Despite the fact that they killed Lothor, remember, they didn't get a chance to perform a sending. I hope you didn't think this was the worst of it, because there's still a lot more to come. Poor Tori. She's going to really need Blake's strength.

Anyways, hope you like this.

R+R please. All comments are welcome, but flames are ignored unless I blieve you were right to flame me. (Don't mean to sound conceited or anything)

Thanks everyone.

Tenshi.


	23. Macalania Discussion Part 4

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I realize this is Part 4 of the Macalania section, but this is the last of it...for now.

I'm really, really glad people like this fic. Your compliments are greatly appreciated, and make me more than happy to continue this fic for you.

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**Dream**

(Blake's POV)

When I came to, I once again found myself in the Farplane, facing Yuna and Rikku from before. They were giggling and laughing, and I found myself looking around for a sight of Tori. I really thought I wouldn't see her there. At least, I hoped not. Whenever I was here, I automatically thought I was dead. I really hoped I wouldn't see her here.

Boy was I surprised!

"Blake!"

Turning my head to my left as I stood up, I saw Tori running towards me with a big smile. What got me was, it wasn't Spira's Tori I was seeing, but my own. Long blonde hair bouncing around behind her, Blue jeans and a spagetti strap, pale blue tank top, and her morpher on her left wrist.

It felt like so long since I saw my Tori, and not in the body of Spira's Tori. If it wasn't for her face, I had a feeling I wouldn't have known who she was.

"Tor!" I called, opening my arms and catching her as she launched herself at me. I held her tightly for a moment, before pulling away to look into her eyes, and frowning. If we were there, both in our own bodies...what did that mean? "What's going on?"

She shook her head. "The last thing I remember was fighting that yeti and falling through the ice." she said darkly as she winced and rubbed her bruised shoulder. "Man, I got worked!" she groaned.

I wanted to laugh. It had been so long since I'd heard her talk like I remembered, without her acting like the innocent Tori that belonged in Spira, that it was a huge relief to hear it now.

"We brought you here."

Turning our heads, we noticed Yuna and Rikku watching us carefully. It looked like Rikku had been the one to speak and Yuna nodded in agreement.

"Yes. The time is getting nearer. You need to find the way to beat Sin permanently." she stated. Looking at me, she smiled. "But you don't need to think so hard on it. The answers will come to you. It's already been set in motion."

Some how I knew...

"This had to do with Lothor, didn't it?" I asked, watching them carefully.

They nodded in unison. "It's not over yet either." Rikku said gravely. "You may think he's dead, but because Tori didn't get a chance to perform a sending, he's still wandering Spira."

"He's still a danger." I summed up.

Tori sighed. "Did I really have to go through with the act of accepting his proposal? Do you guys even know how sick I felt when you told me?"

I raised an eyebrow and regarded her closely for a moment, noticing how she shuddered at the memory and made a face. Shaking my head a with a smirk, I put my arm around her waist and pulled her close to me. "It's cool now Tor. It's over and he's not gonna hurt you again."

That made Yuna and Rikku exchange worried glances and my smirk faltered. "He's not gonna get her again, right?"

Yuna walked up to Tori and sighed sadly. "There is so much yet to come. You will have to deal with Lothor again, and then fight Sin." Looking down, she sniffled. "I only hope you succeed in defeating him permanently."

Rikku came up and put her arm around the girl. "She will. After all, we sent that thing to help, you it's already in motion."

Looking at her wrist, Tori nodded. "I dunno how, but I think she's right. Somehow, these things are gonna help us big time."

I looked around and blinked as everything grew fuzzy. "What's...going on?" I heard myself mumble, barelfy audibly.

"It's time for you to go back." Yuna said with a sad smile.

Closing my eyes, I felt a strange warmth, and heard the sound of water rippling aroud me, but for some reason, though I felt I was underwater, I could breathe.

**End Dream**

When I finally opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on my back, facing the sky. But wait a minute...

...Should the sky be rippling like that?

Frowning, I slowly sat up, feeling a minor ache in my body, and looked around, finding myself in a ruined city of some sort. It was not unlike Zanrkand, but was a lot smaller and instead of everything being bathed in an orange glow from the sky, everything was bathed in pale blue.

I remembered that we'd fallen through the ice, and looked up again. The rippling of the 'sky' and the way a small ball of light shone down on it, being distorted, I realized, we were _still_ in the lake. But then, why could I breathe? Looking down at myself, I noticed I wasn't morphed, so that wasn't the answer. Looking around the ruins, I noticed that it seemed like I was in side some sort of bubble, keeping air in the ruins and making it so we could breathe.

I noticed Dustin stirring a few feet away, and Hunter staning over an unconscious Tori, while Shane mumbled to himself and stood off to the side, frowning. I also noticed Cam was off to one side, alone, and wondered what was gonig on.

I felt relieved to know my friends were still alive and we were still together. 'Praise be to Yevon'. That's what I would've said, if I'd been a follower of Yevon. We were all there, and for the most part, in one piece, even if I _did_ have a headache from trying to figure out what was going to happen next.

Getting up, I walked over to where Dustin had taken up a place next to Tori, and nodded to them as I saw a relieved look pass over Hunter's face. He gave me a small, sad smile and nodded back, before turning back to Tori.

Dustin stood up beside me and sighed with a reassuring smile. "I'm sure Tori's ok. She's breathing fine and all. " he gestured for me to follow him and we walked a little distance away. "How're Shane and Cam?"

"Shane's in shock and Cam seems to be doing about the same as usual." _Good old unflappable Cam._ "How's Hunter?"

Nodding, he sighed. "He's going good. He's so mature and has it all together."

"I guess." I agreed, wondering if I wanted to know why he had such an awed look on his face when thinking of our black mage.

Grinning, he nodded. "Well, just give me five or six more years." he boasted.

I laughed at that, partially feeling relieved. Going back to Hunter and Tori, I nodded to the black mage. "So Hunter," _Bro._ "How do we get out of here?"

"We climb." he said simply with a shrug.

I raised an eyebrow. We had to somehow, climb up a lake? And how exactly was that supposed to work?

Dustin took one look at my face and laughed, making me wonder if I really looked that funny. Shane heard the commotion and came over, a glare marring his face as he looked at us. "How can you laugh at a time like this, ya?"

Suddenly, a low moan was heard, and we all turned to find Tori stirring and slowly waking up. "Tor!" I cried, feeling relieved to know she was all right.

She looked at me, and sighed. There was a sad and resigned look in her face, and I wondered, what was wrong now? "I wanted to confront Lothor." she started, moving to sit up and crossing her legs off to one side as she looked at the ground. "About, what he did to his father, Lord Jyscal. I wanted to convince him to turn himself in to Yevon's Judgment."

Hunter raised an eyebrow and spoke softly. "In exchange for marriage?"

Nodding, she sighed again. "Yes, if that's what it took."

"So, what did Lothor say?" I asked, mentally smacking myself, seeing as how I _didn't_ want to know.

"He didn't say anything. Now...now I don't even think it was worth it. I should have told you what I was going to do."

Cam sighed and shook his head. "Enough." he stated firmly, but softly. "Dwelling in the past is futile."

"Hey! You don't have to say it like that!" Dustin frowned.

"You want to waste time listening to her regrets?"

Even I felt that heartless, and I bet it hurt Tori more than she let on. I wanted to smack him upside the head for it. "Yep. This one's got a stick up his ass too." I murmured under my breath, but Hunter, who was standing beside me, smirked and chuckled at my words, really reminding me of home for a minute there.

"Our immediate concern is Tori's pilgrimage. Are you willing to go on?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Yes. But then, do you think we will still be allowed?"

"The Fayth are the ones who give power to the Summoners, not the temples or teachings. If the temples try to stop us, then we will defy Yevon if we must."

Another jolt went through me. That was the second time it had happend. The first was from wondering if Aeons could die, and the second from thinking of defying Yevon. It made me wonder...were these hints the Aeons were giving me, on how to defeat Sin for good? "Whoa!" I murmured, trying to take it all in.

They seemed to get the wrong idea from that, and immediately began protesting what he'd said, probably thinking I'd done so as well.

Dustin's eyes went wide and he paled considerably as he watched the older Guardian who showed no signs it was a joke. "I can't believe you just said that!" he cried as he raised his hands to his head and pulled on his hair with a panicked look on his face.

Hunter too looked shocked. "Sir Cam!?" he shouted.

Shane shook his head. "Count me out, ya? I mean, it's not like I ever really liked lothor, killing his own father and for trying to do us all in too. But still...going against Yevon? No way!"

"But still, we have transgressed and must face our punishment." Hunter put in grimly.

Tori sighed and nodded. "We must go to Bevelle. We must speak with Maester Mika and explain what has happened. There is no other way, I think."

"So it is decided then?" Cam asked as he seemed ready to leave this place.

Looking shocked, she looked up at him. "You will go with us?"

"I am a troublemaker after all." he said with a wry grin.

I nodded wholeheartedly and grinned. "Yep. You can always count on Cam here to complicate things!"

Dustin laughed and nodded. "He's always running off."

"I never asked you to follow me." Cam shot back with a raised eyebrow and amused spark in his eye.

I nodded, then shook my head. "But that's what friends are for, right?"

Dustin grinned. "Yep, yep!"

"Thank you." Tori said with a bow as she stood up.

Cam merely nodded in return before walking off.

"Man...how can you act like nothing's wrong? Must got nerves of steel or somethin'." Shane muttered.

Hunter sighed and crossed his arms. "Listen to the Hymn of the Fayth Shane, and be calm."

Listening, I heard loud music playing. No, it wasn't music, but a chorus of voices singing. I couldn't make out the words, but was surprised to find how much it soothed me.

Tori walked up to me and gave me a sad smile. "That is coming from the temple. It is Yevon's gift to the faithful."

All of a sudden, the voices went quiet and everyone became alert, looking for signs of danger.

Hunter had his head raised and was looking around. "The singing's stopped." he muttered, and I rolled my eyes behind his back.

_No shit. thank you captian obvious._ I thought sarcastically. It seemed, that this world's Hunter had a knack for stating what others already knew.

The ground began shaking violently, and everyone stumbled. I grabbed on to Tori who was beside me and held her close to me, as Hunter gripped Shane's arm, and Dustin fell to his knees.

"There's something here!" Shane cried as he looked around wildly.

Somehow, I sensed something above us and looked up, only to gasp at what met me. Instinctively, my arms tightened around Tori's shoulders, as I watched the giant whale-like creature floating in the water above us.

Tori must;ve heard my gasp, because she looked up as well. "Sin?!" she cried, catching the other's attentions.

"The toxin! Watch out!" Hunter cried as we scrambled in every direction to get away.

I was left alone under some rubble, watching as the giant fiend floated in the water, and strangely, a sense of gentleness rushed over me. It was almost like...I could hear what it was thinking, or what it wanted, and suddenly, the big bad fiend? It didn't seem so bad anymore. It was still a threat, but I could sense that...it didn't really _want_ to hurt anyone, but it didn't have control over it's actions for some reason.

I realized, it must have been there for a while. "The song." I muttered to myself. "You were listening too, weren't you?"

I had to close my eyes as a pain throbbed between them, and saw an image of the lively Zanarkand that I'd seem in Guadosalam. It faded away, and I got the distinct impression that whatever this thing was, it missed it's home. I found it didn't make much sense, but in a way, it did make some.

"You're homesick too?" I questioned quietly, remembering my own home and wanting to go back so bad. But..."You're Sin now." Was there was way to turn who or whatever this thing was, back into what it was before it became Sin?

Realizing I was having a conversation with Sin, that he was _talking_ to me, in a sense, kind of freaked me out, but I was determined to stay calm.

I got a sense of deep sadness, and frowned. Somehow I just knew... "You want this to end, don't you?" Nodding to myself, I looked to where I knew the others had run off to. "I'll find a way, I promise!" I vowed.

Suddenly, I felt really dizzy, and before I knew what was happening, I was surrounded in darkness.

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Oh boy,,,,for Tori/Blake lovers, the next few chapters may not be too nice. BUT, this IS labelled a Tori/Blake fic for a reason!

Hope you like this.

**OB1follower** Thank you for the reivew. It was greatly appreciated. I'm really glad you like this fic.

**JuseaPeterson** Thank you for bringing up the idea of where are the original characters and heros. Because of that, I'm finding ways to include them in there. I also want to thank you for encouraging me to continue when I first started. I thought no one liked this fic, but you proved me wrong and I continue it for you. I'm very glad you like it. I know you're waiting for that Tori/Blake romantic scene I promised you, and believe me, it's coming up. It should be in about 3 chapters...I think, and it's sooooooo sweet. :)

**Pinklen98** As I just mentioned to JuseaPeterson, there's a romantic part for Tori and Blake coming up. I hope you like it. Sadly, there's more Lothor too, but he won't get his way. Thanks for the reviews and I'm glad you like it.

Anyways, R+R please.

Thank you all for sticking with me. :)

Tenshi.


	24. Bikanel and a Lost Summoner

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : OMG! I don't like the next few chapters, but they have to be done. Personally, I'd rate the next part in major angst. Poor Tori...no...POOR BLAKE! OMG!

To my Tori/Blake reviewers...I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for the next few chapters! I know that a lot about chapter 25 will be reeaaallly sad and heartbreaking.

There's STILL going to be a happy ending, but this next little bit is going to be an angst-fest.

...Please don't hate me for this...(Wimpers)

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(Desert Island)

When I finally came to, I opened my eyes to find myself looking at a blue-green world. Realizing I was face down in water...again, I quickly sat up and gasped, coughing as the oxygen made it's way into my compressed lungs.

I was really beginning to dislike waking up like that.

_**You're awake.**_ came a deep, warm, feminine voice, that I vaguely recognized. _**Your friends will need you.**_

I felt myself frown as I looked around, trying to place the source of the voice.

It was like...she could sense my confusion, because she gave an unladylike snort, and seemed to sigh. _**You do not remember me.**_ she stated dryly. _**Why am I not surprised? Do you recall meeting two women at the Guadosalam Farplane?**_

That's when I realized who it was. Treading water, I looked around again. "Lulu." I said to myself, remembering her voice from then, There was no answer, and I felt like I as alone. Swimming to the shore, I slowly walked up the sand, groaning as the full out heat of the island hit my body, instantly making me sweat and feel uncomfortable.

Suddenly, I felt a cooling sensation run through my body and sighed in relief. I somehow knew it was Shiva, and mentally thanked her. I also wondered, if the others felt this too, or if this connection I seemed to have with the Aeons, was for me and Tori alone.

As I scanned the area for any signs of my friends, I felt my eyes widen to see endless desert in all directions. This...wasn't Macalania. _That's_ for sure! But then, where were we? Was I the only one here?

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a loud roar echoed through the land, and I turned, finding a giant bird, not unlike the ones from Besaid and Mi'ihen, flying behind me, glaring at me with it's beady red eyes. It was flack with a blue fire running along it's entire body, and easily could've swallowed me whole.

Grabbing my thunder blade, I ran at it, swinging and trying to hit it in a critical area. I managed to clip it's wing, but it barely fazed the monster, and my eyes went wide. It rushed at me and caught me with it's claws, causing me to scream in pain as I fell to my knees.

Suddenly, a figure ran forward and sliced at the bird with a familiar broadsword. Looking up, I noticed Cam standing there, and he quickly used a hi-potion on me, making me feel a lot better.

"Need some help?" he asked with a small smile.

This surprised me, because it wasn't a smirk or grin, but a real smile, full of relief. With a faint nod, we turned back to the monster, just in time for it to be hit with a blizzaga spell, and turned to find Hunter running over. I jumpe in surprise, when instead of stopping by my side, he ran right up and hugged me tight a moment, before stepping back and nodding to me, a new warmth in his eyes, as well as relief.

I could only stand there speechless, and with a shake of my head, I nodded, not exactly sure what to say. This was the first bit of brotherly affection he'd shown me since I arrived, and though it confused me, it also served to comfort me somewhat as well.

"Are you alright?" he asked me, quickly looking at Cam to include him, but mostly directing the question at me.

I nodded and we turned back to the fiend.

"A Zuu." Hunter stated with a slight wince. Casting another blizzaga, he continued. "Blake, focus your powers into your blade like you did with Lothor. It will give you a boost."

Doing as he said, I ran forward with my charged blade, and jumped, flipping in the air and bringing down my blade with more force than usual. The bird fell to the ground, it's broken wings hanging limply at it's sides, and charged at us to attack with it's powerful, sharp beak.

Hunter cast one final blizzaga, as it seemed to be what the fiend was weak against, and as the spell faded, am raed forward to deliver a powerful slash, taking it down completely.

As the fiend faded into pyreflies, I turned to the others as I strapped my blade to my back again. "The others?"

Cam shrugged, and Hunter sighed with a shake of his head. "Haven't found them yet. We're supposed to stay in one place if we get split up."

I noticed Cam walking away and laughed a bit. "Wait here if you want, he's not." I said, pointing to the retreating Guardian.

Together, the three of us made our way through the desert, soon coming to a ruined machina and finding Shane taking shelter underneith it.

"Shane!" I called as we ran over. He looked up at us with an unhappy expression and nodded. "You alone?" I asked as I tilted my head and looked around.

"Where's Tori? Dammit!" he swore, seeing that she wasn't with us. "First I lose Tori, then I'm ambushed by machina!" He snorted and shook his head. "Great day I'm having!" he spat.

Frowning, I looked around slowly, seeing the odd ruined machina and a few stray working machina running through the sand. I almost feared that Tori was lost out there, and it made me want to scream. We'd saved her from Lothor, to what? Lose her in a desert?

Moving along, we travelled a shadowed dune, keeping out of the sun, though Shiva would protect me from the hot winds. It seemed, the others didn't have the same luxury as me. I guess, I kind of felt bad for them.

Soon, we came to a small hill and climbed it, and I felt relieved to find Dustin on the other side, looking at a sign that was written in another language. My guess was, it was in Al Bhed.

"Oh! Hey guys!" he cried as he turned around, running up to us. He looked around for a moment and frowned. "Where's Tori?"

"Gone." I said simply, feeling worry eating at me.

Hunter sighed and looked down, closing his eyes tight and massaging his temples. "Gone...some Guardian I am." he mumbled.

Dustin seemed worried, but for a different reason. He clasped his hands behind his back and scuffed the ground with the toe of his boot. "Ummm...There's something I wanna tell you, but promise not to say anything." He finished his statement, pointing to each of us.

Shane glared at him silently, and he glared back.

"No glaring either!" he shot at him, before sighing and looking at the sand. "I know where we are. We're on Bikanel Island."

I instantly flashed back to when we were on the boat, and I'd asked him where we were.

_So where am I anyways?_

_Just 2 hours from the Bikanel coastline_

So this was Bikanel. I'd thought it would be somehow...different. Well, just it just went to show how much I knew.

"There's a place us Al Bhed call Home near here. Tori's there, I'm sure of it! Other Al Bheds must have come and rescued her!"

"Rescued? You mean kidnapped!" Shane shot back with a snort.

"What does it matter, as long as she's safe?" I shot back at him, glaring and daring him to continue.

Dustin nodded eagerly. "That's right! Anyway, I'll take you there if you promise...that you won't tell anyone about it. Especially not Yevonites, okay? You know they don't like us Al Bhed, who knows what they'll do?" He almost seemed frightened to think about it.

"Gimme a break!" Shane sighed. "What're you acusing Yevon of this time?"

"Yevon did something really bad to us before." Dustin said sadly.

It made me wonder what they did that could be so bad, to a race of people seen as monsters and outsiders. It also made me wonder how the whole civilization could believe in one, and only one religion.

"Well..." Shane seemed to hesitate, but he wasn't willing to give up the fight. "You Al Bhed probably deserved it."

Sighing and groaning, I shook my head. "Can't you guys...talk about this later?"

"Just promise you won't tell anyone about this, okay?" Dustin insisted, looking into Shane's eyes.

I looked at Shane as well. "Shane, come on!"

He slowly nodded. "All right, I promise! Lead the way." he said with a resigned sigh.

"You got it!" Dustin chirped cheerily.

I began to wonder what he was on that made him happy all the time, and if he was willing to share.

We moved through the desert with Dustin as our guide, though it did frighten me when he'd get a confused and worried look on his face every now and then, Then, he'd snap his fingers and run in a different direction.

There were the occassional comments of, "That way!", "Uhhh...which way was it again?", "Over there!", and of course, the one we all _loved_, "Ummm...I think I'm lost." That last one had me _so_ close to grabbing Dustin by his hair and burying him head first in the sand.

Just as I was about to do so, his eyes widened and he grinned, pointing over a hill just in front of us and running over it. "It's over there!" he called out to us as he disappeared over the other side. All of a sudden, there was a scream, and we all ran to check up on Dustin, worried about him.

"Dustin!" I yelled, coming over the hill to find a nearby city on fire. The sounds of gunfire and the roar of fiends, caused my eyes to widen. Tori was in _that_?

"What? Tori's down there?" Shane cried, full out fear in his eyes.

"Of all the places..." Hunter groaned as he readyed his magic and began running. "Let's go!" he called over his shoulder to us.

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Really short chapter, but it's more of a filler for the next. The angst-fest begins soon. OMG! I'm crying while writing it, feeling Blake's pain like it's my own! It's so sad!

I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!

If it's any consolation...okay, I'm sorry. I don't know what to offer as consolation.

At least...you'll finally find out what everyone's been hiding from Blake and why they didn't tell him. Poor Blake. (runs over and holds him tight) JuseaPeterson...please do the honors. (Hands Blake over to Jusea to be consoled... Find's earth Hunter and runs over to hug him tightly.) I'm so so so so so so so SORRY!

**Pinklen98** : You're going to hate me for sure for the next few chapters. I"M SO SORRY!!!

R+R please.

I won't ask if you enjoyed the next chapter or two, because I personally didn't and won't, and I'm the one writing them. I wish I could change them but...they're needed for the plotline.

SORRY!

Tenshi

P.S... I know Rocky's a little clueless. Sorry for that, but he's replacing a boy of about 12 years old, and Justin was already taken.


	25. Bikanel Home and Flight

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything, but the three boxes of tissues I'm using while writing these next few chapters.

**Note** : (sniffle) ...So sad. (bawls) I'M SO SORRY!

You're all going to hate me for this... I'm so sorry! (Bows) Please don't kill me!

The full title for this chapter is... **Bikanel Home and Flight. Truths, Pain and Plight**

**OB1follower** - You may have spoken too soon. LOL. This chapter gets a little angsty. Thank you for your review, it was very encouraging and I really appreciate it. I'm glad you like it.

Just a side note...I'm still thinking on the sequel. That'll be fun LOL. PRNS in the world of Final Fantasy X-2.

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(Home)

As we entered the Al Bhed city, we found ourselves instantly surrounded by bodies. Most were Al Bhed, but some were fiends as well, and there were a few Guado, instantly making me grab my thunder blade and charging it with my energies as we stopped a moment.

"Where's Tori?" Shane cries as an Al Bhed runs out of the main building, before turning and firing his machina weapon, but getting shot in the process.

As he collapsed, Dustin gave a cry and ran over to him. "Keyakku! Who? Who's attacking us? Fru tet drec du oui? (Keyakku! Who? Who's attacking us? Who did this to you?)"

He coughed weakly in Dustin's arms. "Yevon...Guado..." he managed to spit out in Spiran, before he closed his eyes and died.

Hunter frowned as Dustin lowered the body and stood up, his eyes full of tears, but not one falling. "A war? Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?" he muttered to himself.

A new voice spoke up. "Dryd ec fnuhk! Guado ku vun dra Summoner! (That is wrong! Guado go for the Summoner!)"

Everyone turned to find an older man, completely bald, with spiraled green eyes. From his posture and the hard look in his eyes, he was likely someone important, and was obviously no stranger to battle.

"Vydran... (Father...)" Dustin murmured.

He looked at Dustin before looking at the rest of us. "You Dustin's friends?" he asked in accented Spiran. "Well, don't just stand there, come on! Let's go kick those Guado out of our home!"

I nodded and glared at the building, grasping my blade tightly. "Let's kick some Guado ass!" I snarled. They did all this, practically wiping out a race, just for Tori? Or...was there something more? Either way, they _seriously_ pissed me off, and if there's one thing you _don't_ want to see, it's a pissed of Thunder Ninja!

As the others ran into the building, I stopped long enough to turn to Dustin. "Who...?" Somehow, I felt I should've known him.

"Cid. Leader of the Al Bhed. He's my dad." he said quickly.

Nodding, I turned and we ran inside to join the others, quickly taking out a group of Guado and fiends. If this 'Cid' was Dustin's dad, and the same Cid as Tori asked about back in Luca, then it was her uncle as well. I really should've figured there was more to the attempts to kidnap her, than met the eye. Why would an Al Bhed try to kidnap his cousin? Why would the leader of the Al Bhed send them after Tori, unless there was a lot more to this picture than I knew.

"We have to save Tori!: Dustin cried as he stole from a Guado.

I smirked as I used my ninja streaking to run behind the guy, and slashed him with my charged blade, before using my enhances abilities to get to a higer ledge and jump off, impaling a weird bomb of somekind, and killing it instantly. "Not just Tori!" I cried back.

Remembering how I heard about the spell, berserk, before, I wondered if anyone had cast it on me. I was moving almost always with ninja speed and stealth, and was taking down fiends and Guados, left right and center. I noticed the others looking at me in shock, before turning back and fighting their own fiends, and knew I'd have questions to answer later, but at the moment, I couldn't care less.

I was pissed!

No, I was _beyond_ pissed! The Guado dare attack this place for Tori? They're wiping our the Al Bhed for what? One Summoner? No, I wouldn't allow that to happen!

Dustin nodded and gave me a smile. "Right!"

For a minute, I wondered if I'd spoken my thoughts out loud, or if he read my mind, but then realized, he was answering to my comment about saving mor then the Summoners.

Running further into the building, Shane groaned and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Tori! Where are you?" he called. Shaking his head, he sighed and frowned at the last remains of the Guados we'd fought and beaten. "What in Yevon's name are the Guado thinking?"

"This is terrible!" Dustin cried as they passed more dead Al Bhed. I could see that he was struggling not to lose his mind, and the tears were building in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

Suddenly, Cid's voice boomed out over the loudspeakers. "Drec pedac! Dustin! Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ya majamehk Home! Yht dra fiend fedr ed! (This bites! Dustin! You read me? You go under, too! I'm levelling Home! And the fiend with it!)" he shouted.

Dustin's already pale face, pales even more. "Oh, no!" he cried.

"What he say?" Shane asked, for once seeming concerned and friendly.

Looking at him, Dustin turned and began walking down a side hall. "We have to get underground!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Where's Tori? Cam called as we walked after him.

"The Summoners' Sanctum! This way!"

Some weird looking fiends, that looked similar to a cross between bulls and wolves, with four claws around their shoulders and head, attacked along with two Guados. I took out the Guados immediately, and noticed one of the fiends hit Hunter, knocking him into a wall. The hit must've been bad, because he staggered forward as he clutched at his chest and glared at it as he bast thundaga.

I saw red, and ran forward, attacking with a blind fury, the fiends, and taking them down in little time at all.

We continued on, until Duston came to a trap door that was open a crack. Going down, we followed him down a dimly lit passageway, noting the debris and the fact that it looked similar to an old labrynth.

Shane stopped and shook his head. "This place is done for." he said sadly.

Dustin nodded and stopped as well, looking at the ground and clutching his fists by his sides. "You're right." he said. Sighing, he nodded. "You're right, Shane. We Al Bhed, we...we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we used to live. After that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we few put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new home. Everyone worked hard. We had our home back, but now...Why did things have to turn out this way?"

He was so close to tears, I could hear him hiccuping as he struggled not to break down in front of us. Shane seemed to hear it too, and walked forward, a sad and warm look in his eyes. "Dustin... Damn those Guados!" he spat, angry at a new enemy now. "What're they thinknig?"

We continued on a little father before it was Hunter's turn to speak up. "Dustin... What is the Summoners' Sanctum?"

"The Summoners' Sanctum is where we keep the Summoners." he explained stating the obvious.

I frowned at that. So then, he was admitting to kidnapping the Summoners? But I didn't understand...why?

"We keep them safe there." he finished, looking confused as we headed down a flight of stairs.

"You kidnap them;" Shane said calmly.

Sighing, Dustin nodded. "I know it's against the teachings and all..."

"I get why you did it, but..." Shane cut him off, only to have me cut him off as I finally snapped.

"Well I don't get it!" I yelled, glaring at them. "They might get hurt on their pilgrimages, so you kidnap them? I mean, if the Summoners don't do their job, then who will beat Sin?" Sighing, I lowered my voice. "I know you wanna protect them, but Guardians are there for that. If Guardians do their job well, Summoners will be safe! Right?"

I got no answer and everyone turned away. I began to get suspicious and terrified, a new urgency to find Tori building with me. "Right?!" I yelled, trying again.

Cam cleared his throat and turned to another corridor. "It's quiet. I'll check it out." he stated as he walked away.

I think...I would've preferred them to tell me I was wrong. Their silence... it was so ominous. The way they avoided my question, they might as well have yelled out "NO!"

Finally making it to the Sanctum, we walked in and I found myself praying that Tori was in there and all right.

Dustin seemed to be reading my mind. "Tori, please be in there." he said quietly.

Cam took a different approach. "TORI!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

To my surprise, and chagrin, Kimberly walked over, looking a little frazzled, but otherwise fine. I found it weird to see no conceit in her eyes, and it was weirder to see her without Tommy behind her.

"She's not here." she said almost sadly. "Hello again. Wait there until we have performed the sending." she instructed us softly as she walked over to where, again to my surprise, Billy was standing, onle he had his Guardians with him.

He looked over at us and smiled sadly. "They died...protecting us. It's not much, but the least we can do is give them a proper sending." he said with a nod.

Rocky came over with a confused look on his face. "Hey, what's 'sacrificed'? The Al Bhed said Summoners were being 'sacrificed'. The Summoners shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage..."

Without meaning to, I snapped to everyone, including the clueless young man. "Why couldn't they trust Guardians to protect the Summoners? The Al Bhed had no right stopping their pilgrimage!" I shouted, feeling strangely terrified.

Dustin seemed to have enough as well and snapped at me. "The pilgrimages have to stop!" he yelled, his tears finally flowing. "If they don't, and the Summoners make it to Zanarkand...They might defeat Sin."

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. _And that's bad...how?_ I thought sarcastically, noting the desperate look on his face.

"Tori could...but then she..." his voice was soft, but suddenly, he glared at me and yelled the words that made my heart stop beating and my jaw drop. "Tori will die, you know?!"

I couldn't breath. I gasped for air as I felt tears come to my eyes. His words repeated in my head over and over again, and I felt like I was drowning. I hadn't even noticed, when Rocky ran away, back to Jason.

_Tori will die..._

"You know, don't you?" he continued, his tears matching mine as I realized he was being brutally honest. "Summoners journey to get the final Aeon. Tori told you, didn't she?"

I stumbled back a few steps. _She...she knew?_ I thought with shock. Remembering the times she seemed desperate to tell me something, but was always interrupted...the time I told her I'd protect her from anything and she said I might not be able to...it all came rushing back, and I felt my body go numb as my heart broke into a million pieces. _She knew...that she'd die. _

That's what Cam must've meant when he said that she'd suffer the same fate as the rest of the Summoners who only temporarily defeated Sin. And that we'd all die. I felt like my whole world was collapsing in on me, and one look at the others, their sad faces, confirmed it all.

"With the Final Aeon, she'll beat sin. But then...then...then, if she calls it, the Final Aeon's gonna kill her! Even if she defeats Sin, the Final Aeon'll kill Tori too, you know!"

"Was I...was I the only one who didn't know?" I croaked as I tried to wipe my tears away, only to have fresh ones take their place. Shaking my head, I tried to deny it, but I knew...it was the truth.

"We weren't hiding it..." Shane tried to explain, his own face covered with grief.

Hunter nodded and refused to look at me, pain radiating from him. "We just...didn't know how to say it." he whispered.

"Hunter!" I cried, feeling betrayed that even _he_ knew and didn't tell me. He might not have been my bro, but he was the one I'd bonded with the most. Almost like a second brother, and to find out even he didn't tell me? "How could you?" I whispered before I went off again. "How could you?! Isn't she like a sister to you? I thought you were family!" _I thought we were family!_ "Why don't you do something, Shane?"

Then, Hunter's words that day in Kilika came back to me.

_She knew what she was getting into, even from the start. All we can do, is protect her along the way. Until the end._

He hadn't lied to me, but he hadn't been honest either.

I don't think I'd ever felt so betrayed, and Tori knew? She knew all this time, and let me rush her to get to Zanarkand? God! I felt like such a fool, and I felt so guilty. She must've been terrified, and I was pushing her to hurry.

If I didn't find a different way to beat Sin, I'd lose Tori.

Tori knew and didn't tell me.

Lothor must've knew too, so why didn't _he_ tell me?

So many thoughts and questions, I felt the world spinning and my legs turn to rubber.

"Don't you think we _tried_ to stop her?!" Hunter yelled looking hurt and scared. "She follows...her heart." he murmured, looking down.

I could almost hear my brother in there.

_I'm sorry bro._

Those words, they were written all over his face, and I could almost swear I heard him say them, but knew it was all in my head.

I was beginning to regret ever coming to Spira. I was so close to finding one of those Fayth and demanding they send Tor and me home so we wouldn't have to go through with this, but I also knew...it'd be hopeless. We were completely at their mercy, and if Tori knew all this time, but kept going, then she wouldn't quit now.

"Tori, she knew what she was doing when she chose to become a Summoner to face Sin, ya? Tori knew!" Shane yelled, a look of such deep grief written over his face.

But...it made me wonder if _my_ Tori knew when she signed up for this.

Dustin sighed and shook his head. "But Shane, that's just totally wrong! Summoners shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves...just so the rest of Spira can be happy, right?"

It was twisted logic, but I could see what he meant. He didn't want to lose Tori either, and was trying to find another way. Instead of losing it, I should've been doing that too, but I couldn't help it. I felt so betrayed and helpless. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know how.

A large ape-like creature appeared, and Kimberly and Billy walked over, looking grim and apologetic.

"But that is our choice..." Billy said with a sad smile, as he summoned Valefor.

Kimberly nodded as she summoned Ifrit. "We all live in fear of Sin, you know that."

When I saw Valefor, Tori's first ever Aeon, I felt my rage bubble back up, and ran over to it, punching on it's chest as I cried. I noticed how it bent over and wrapped it's wings around me, but was too hurt and angry to think about it as I beat helplessly on it.

"And I've been pushing her!" I yelled as my attacks grew weaker. "Let's beat Sin! Let's go get the Final Aeon and beat him forever, I said! I told her all the things we could...we could... And all along, I didn't know anything! And Tori, she'd...just smile!"

I was remembering back to the times when we'd laugh. Back at Mi'ihen Highroad, when I'd told her she could come live there after fighting Sin. I saw the sad look in her eyes, but she smiled and tried to play it off. She lied to me!

...To save me the pain she was feeling...

"I can't let her die!" I vowed loudly as my tears finally stopped. "I'll find her!" _And stand by her side! I'll find a way to save her!_

Valefor nuzzled my neck before slowly fading away, and together with the Summoners and extra Guardians, we all ran out of the Sanctum, making our way to an airship dock and boarding together. Kimberly and Billy, along with Jason and Rocky, split up and went to different sections of the ship, as our group made their way to the bridge, finding Cid standing here, ordering around the people at the control panels.

"Hu desa! Ku, ku, ku! (No time! Go, go, go!)" he shouted as he rushed around the bridge.

The blonde Al Bhed with the mowhawk, from the Macalania Lake attack, nodded. "Three minutes mavd! (Three minutes left!)" he cried.

Dustin, who was beside me, pointed to the man who'd just spoke. "He's my brother. No one knows how to pronounce his real name, so we all just call him Brother." he whispered.

I'd remembered him saying that Al Bhed man was his brother at Macalania, and nodded.

"Rinno, rinno! Oui ryja one minute! (Hurry, hurry! You have one minute!)"

"Where's Tori?" I called, somehow knowing that this Cid guy would be able to find her.

He ignored me. "Ajanouha uh puynt? (Everyone on board?)"

"Ajanouha ymeja! (Everyone alive!)" called out another Al Bhed.

Growling, I stalked forward and grabbed Cid by his shirt collar, glaring into his eyes. "I said, where's Tori? Answer me, damn you!" I snarled.

"What'll you do when you find her?" he shot back, glaring into my eyes with his green, spiraled ones.

"I didn't know anything about what a Summoner's supposed to do!" I yelled. "And I...I've got to tell her! I've got to tell her I'm sorry!" _And that I love her, before it's too late!_

"That's it?" he shot back, seeingly unimpressed. "You're gonna tell her you're sorry?" he mocked me and sneered. "And then you just drag her along to Zanarkand and make her fight Sin, huh? You're all the same! Let the Summoners die, so all of Spira can live in peace!"

Shaking my head, I let him go. "No..." I muttered, shaking my head. "I'm not gonna let her die."

"Hah! Words! Show me action!" he yelled.

Growling again, I clenched my fists at my side. "I'm telling you..." I began with a deceptively calm voice, only to yell the rest of my sentence. "SHE WON'T DIE!"

He nodded slowly, a small hint of trust and respect glowing in his eyes. "Boy, don't forgot those words, cause if you do...I'm gonna make you regret it." he said slowly.

_Not gonna happen. If anything happens to her, there won't be enough left of me to do anything with._ I thought darkly. _Without her, I'm nothing._ "I won't." I vowed with a shake of my head, staring him in the eye. "So you know where she is?"

I was almost hopeful he'd say yes, but his eyes darkened and he shook his head. " 'Course not! That's why we're gonna look! Using this airship!" he said with a crooked grin.

Shane's eyes went wide and he gasped. "Air-airship?" he stuttered, looking around.

Hunter chuckled silently, before meeting my eyes and looking away sadly.

I felt a little better that we were going to look for her, but still disappointed that I'd have to wait, and hurt to find out about this in the first place. It made me once again wonder...What kind of world was this? Giving Cid a nod, I watched as he turned back to the others.

Suddenly, the airship begins to rumble and Brother turns to Cid. "Vydran! Nayto du ku! (Father! Ready to go!)"

"Oaaryy! Y vmekrd 1000 years ujantia! (Yeehaa! A ride 1000 years overdue!)" he cried.

The airship dock opens in front of us, and with a rocky take off, we're airborn. It was kind of cool riding one of these things, but at the moment, I was too worried about Tori to notice it much.

"Haqd, fa ica dryd! (Next, we use that!)" Cid called, pointing to what looked like a cannon weapon of some kind.

Brother nodded. "Frydajan oui cyo. (Whatever you say.)" Brother responded, sounding subdued and sad.

One by one, the crew members began singing the Hymn we'd heard under the Macalania Lake. It freaked me out, how the atmosphere suddenly turned somber, and I turned to Dustin who looked horribly sad.

Shane also seemed to sense it, because he too turned to Dustin. "What's goin' on?" he asked quietly.

"We...we're gonna blow up Home." Dustin said as he sniffed a bit.

"How?" Hunter asked softly.

"With one of the forbidden machina." Cid answered. "Nayto? (Ready?)" He got a nod from Brother and sighed. "Vena! (Fire!)" he ordered sternly.

A bunch of missles were shot towards the former Al Bhed home, and everyone could only watch as the remains of the burning city were destroyed in a savage explosion. By the shockwave that accompanied the explosion, that sent the ship a good distance away, it also looked to have blown up a good portion of the island as well.

Shane turned back to Dustin who was looking at the ground sadly and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Hey! Don't look so down, ya. Boom! Like happy fesitval fireworks!"

Needless to say, I hoped he'd never come to cheer _me_ up!

Dustin snorted and glared at him. "You can cram your happy festival fireworks, you big meanie!" he shouted.

I saw Cam walk up to Cid and begin talking, and listened in to their conversation.

"After rescuing Tori, then what? You want to keep her safe, correct? Would you seek to stop her pilgrimage?" he asked carefully.

Cid snorted and nodded. "Of course! If she continues this fool pilgrimage, she will die! Sure as if you killed her yourself! No hare-brained law or teaching's going to send my little neice to her death! When I save her, I'll make her give up being a Summoner faster than a desert melts ice!"

"Even against her will?" Cam pressed, seeming to not like what he was hearing.

I could understand where he was coming from, but at that point in time, I was on Cid's side, and I think, I'd throw a party if he could make her give up the pilgrimage.

"Better than a dog's death!" Cid growled.

Shaking my head, I walked idolly over to Brother who looked up from his screen.

"Vydran! Fa vuiht Tori! (Father! I found Tori!)" he cried happily.

Cid turned quickly and walked over. "Frana?! (Where?!)" he called excitedly.

Looking to his screen, Brother began typing. "E femm cruf oui! (I will show you!)"

I didn't understand a word they said, besides Tori's name, and wondered what they were talking about. Cid was looking at a screen and frowning, making my worry grow. "Tori?" I questioned loudly, hoping to get his attention.

Pointing to a large screen, Cid hit a few buttons.

As the image appeared for everyone to see, I felt my legs give out underneith me and collapsed to my knees. There was Tori, in a wedding gown. It was a white strapless down with wrist length gloves and wings that curved over her arms slightly. It had a low back, and the front of the skirt went to about her mid-thigh, with the back of it trailing behind her. The edges of the longer part of the skirt, was trimmed with white feathers, and she had on knee length white boots. She also held a boquet of white and red roses, and her hair was up in a tight bun, with a few lose tendrils of hair framing her face, and a veil covering her.

I'd never seen anything so beautiful in all my life, and I felt tears come to my eyes.

Then, the image changed, and I gasped, finding it hard to breathe as my heart leapt up into my throat and stopped beating.

There was Lothor. Dressed in a black tux with all of the trimmings, his hair pulled back into his familiar ponytail, and the same shit-eating grin on his face. He was walking down a separate path from Tori, but they were getting closer and closer, and both were completely surrounded by guards.

Then the image went black, and I swallowed heavily, feeling pain radiating from my heart and all over my body. From the look on Tori's face, she wasn't happy about this, but she was going through with it anyways.

"Where was that?!" I shouted as I jumped up.

Hunter sighed and frowned as he looked at me, such pain in his eyes. "The Palace of St. Bevelle. Heart of Yevon." he informed us gravely.

Turning to Cid, I raised an eyebrow. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's move!"

"Easy kiddo! Bevelle's defenses are top notch!" he said with a shake of his head.

_Kiddo? Who're you calling kiddo?_ Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest. "What's the matter, _gramps_?" I shot back, grinning at the incredulous look on his face. Turning serious, I frowned. "You scared? Tori's there, so we go and get her! That's all!"

"You got guts!" he chuckled with a shake of his head. "Cad luinca du Bevelle! Vimm cbaat yrayt! (Set course to Bevelle! Full speed ahead!)"

"Nukan! (Roger!)" Brother nodded.

The ship shook a moment, before it shot off.

"It'll take a little while to get to Bevell. Meanwhile..."

I interrupted. "We prepare for battle!"

Suddenly, the ship began shaking and we were all thrown off balance. Shane shot me a look that said 'you just _had_ to say it' and I shrugged sheepishly.

To our surprise, Andros came walking in and looked at us all calmly. "We're being attacked from within. Some of the Guado that attacked Home, must have snuck on board."

Cid snorted. "You're awefully calm about it!"

"I am calm about most things." Andros retorted with a small smile and raised eyebrow.

Shaking his head, Cid frowned. "Fiends! There's nothing to do but-"

"But destroy the ship and all go down together!" Dustin interrupted, mocking his father with a raised eyebrow.

I had half an urge to laugh, and if Tori wasn't getting married to Lothor, and we weren't under attack, I'd probably be on the floor in histerics. As it was, I couldn't fight off the grin as Cid cocked his head to the side and regarded his son with a quizzical expression.

Snorting, Dustin sighed and shook his head, feigning disappointment. "You gotta learn a little restraint pops." he put in with a shrug. "If you crash the ship, we can't go rescue Tori! Leave the fiends to us professionals!" he exclaimed, puffing out his chest and making himself look proud.

I nodded grimly. "Yeah! Let's go!" I cried, grabbing my blade.

Looking at me, Dustin nodded before turning to Andros. "Thanks." he said seriously as he fixed his metal claw over his hand.

Andros looked at us all with pride and respect before bowing to Dustin. "Dustin, you've made some very good friends, I think." he said with a grateful smile.

We ran off through the corridors, fighting the fiends as they came. Like Andros had suggested, there were some Guado with them, and they were a little tougher than before. Still, we managed to fight them off, and Hunter surprised us all when he cast a powerful spell that seemed to swallow the monsters in a void, causing heavy damage, before they were released again.

He said it was called Ultima.

From what I recalled about learning magic, it was one of the most powerful spells for a black mage, whereas Holy was the most powerful offensive spell for white magic. Raising an eyebrow, I remembered that he still had yet to teach me any magic, but as I avoided an attack by another one of those weird living bomb things, the thought quickly fled my mind.

Saving an exhaused Kimberly from a Guado, she surprised us all by announcing she was giving up Summoning. Apparently, these battles were too much for her, and had broken her will power to continue. She even mumbled about going with Tommy to start a new life someplace, and I felt a small pang of guilt that I'd thought her such a witch before.

Soon enough, we'd fought off all of the fiends on the lower decks, only to be alerted to a fiend just outisde the ship. We went up onto the higher deck, and I felt my jaw drop when we saw the giant dragon-like monster outside.

"Huh, now that's a rare sight." Cam muttered with a shake of his head.

"Whoa! That's huge!" I cried as the monsterous dragon flew by the side of the airship.

"What _is_ that?" Dustin breathed in fear.

Hunter sighed and looked worried. "The guardian wyrm, Evrae. The great sacred beast, protector of Bevell." he almost groaned.

Nodding, Cam watched as it flew at the ship, but the airship managed to shakily avoid it. "The red carpet has teeth."

"Wait! That means, we're close to Bevelle!" I cried, suddenly becoming excited at the prospect of saving Tori.

Suddenly, Cid's voice rang out over a loud speaker. "Dustin, you read me? We're gonna fight that thing! Get on deck and show him what you got! Go!" he ordered.

Dustin made a face and shook his head. "There he goes again." he muttered.

Cam gave a small chuckle. "The ferryman asks a high price."

"Uhhh...Dustin...How exactly do we fight _outside_ the airship?" I asked hesitantly, really not wanting to get blown away.

"There's a force field around the airship that keeps you from getting blown off." he said simply. "It's complicated, but that's the easiest way to explain it."

I nodded, thankful he kept it in simple terms.

We decided to follow Dustin to the elevator that would take us to the deck, and were surprised to find Andros already there, smiling and nodding at us as we went to move past.

"Open the hatch. We fight!" Cam said firmly

He nodded and his smile faded. "Evrae is truly mighty. Make sure to be prepared."

"We gotta pay?" Shane cried indignantly. "If we lose, you die too buddy!"

His smile returned and he shrugged. "I have faith in your victory."

"Gee, thanks." Dustin put in with a slight wince and shake of his head.

We stocked up on our healing items and ran to the elevator, waiting as the large metal platform raised to the deck. Once it stopped and the door opened, I felt a strong blast of cold air hit me, but like Dustin mentioned, it wasn't powerful enough to knock me off my feet.

Hearing a whirring noise and the sound of metal grating on metal, I frowned and turned to Dustin.

"The weapons on he ship have been activated." he explained before I could ask.

"We gotta keep our distance, but we can't let her get too far away! You all have to tell me when to move! But tell me quick, eh? This rig ain't so nimble, you hear?" Cid's voice shouted over the intercom.

I nodded and headed out ahead of the others. "Roger! I'll give the command!" I called back.

Dustin stepped beside me and shook his head. "Not alone, you won't!" he chided me.

Dustin immediately ran forward, managing to steal a weird golden tail. It looked like it belonged to a bird, and Dustin was smirking as he packed it into his pouch, so it must've been important somehow.

Once Dustin was out of the way, Cam, Shane and I attacked together. As Shane threw his blitzball at Evrae's head, Cam and I rushed forward and attacked with our weapons, hitting it quickly and moving before it could retaliate.

Raising it's head back, it shot it forward and a green mist came out, hitting Hunter and making him stagger as his skin paled and turned a ghostly white. He staggered to the left and fell to his knees as he panted and shook his head. Raising his hand, he glared at the giant dragon and called out, "Don't turn your back on the sea!" as he angrily cast a wateraga spell on it, before he slumped and clutched at his chest, his eyes closing as he hissed in pain.

Growling, I focused my energies into my blade and ran forward, using another spin attack before running back to Hunter's side. "Dude, I'm not from this world." I reminded him as I looked on in worry. "You gotta tell me what's wrong."

"Poison!" he gasped out as he clutched at his chest.

Nodding in understanding, I reaching into my pouch and grabbed an antidote, making him drink it and relaxing a bit as his normal skin color returned. He was still staggering as we both stood up, so I also gave him a hi-potion to heal him and ran over to Dustin who'd also just been poisoned. I did the same for him, and managed to barely dodge an attack by Evrae, grabbing my blade and slicing at the incoming claws.

Part of me wanted to laugh as I realized...I had taken over Tori's place. I was the one healing everyone this time, and I wondered, when would I start calling Aeons?

_**You can call on us at any time. We figured that once you realized your connection to us was the same as Tori's, that you'd realize you were a Summoner as well.**_ came Lulu's amused and also bored voice.

I stopped moving in shock and felt my jaw drop open. I could call the Aeons at any time...and they were waiting until _now_ to tell me??

_**As Shiva said, we thought you already knew.**_ put in Rikku, sounding a little sheepish.

Growling quietly, I shook my head, and dodged Evrae's claws as I swung back instinctively. "If I'd known, and you can obviously read my mind, don't you think you would've heard about it by now?" I questioned under my breath, completely aware that I didn't want to sound like I was talking to myself in front of the others.

There was no response but a presence of sheepishness and embarrassment.

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to the fight to see Dustin get knocked down and gasp in pain. Making a quick decision, I moved to his side. "Cid! Move the ship back, now!" I called.

"Roger!" he responded.

I would've called an Aeon, but wanted to keep that until it was absolutely necessary. Kind of like my ability to morph, I wanted to keep it as a hidden advantage.

The ship moved away, and a moment later, a large salvo of missles were launched at Evrae, bringing it down in a cloud of pyreflies Like I'd never seen before. Then again, I guessed the saying was true.

The bigger they are...

"Ow!" Dustin muttered as he slowly staggered to his feet.

...The harder they fall.

Suddenly, the ship lurched and began to fall slightly. I heard Brother's voice, speaking in Al Bhed, talking to Cid, and turned to Dustin who looked afraid. He turned back to me and shook his head. "We're losing power. This is gonna be close." he muttered as the ship made for Bevelle.

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Sorry this chapter was so long. I just couldn't find a good place to stop it without having a really short chapter come next.

The surprises keep coming, huh? I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I made Blake a Summoner. It just hit me, but I realized...it helps me with the plot in a lot of ways. It'll also help me with the HAPPY ending I promised.

I realize you probably hate me after this chapter, but it went with the story. As much as I dreaded writing it, I was also excited to get to this point.

Well, please R+R anyway. Let me know if I should start running. (looks around warily)

Thank you for your patience.

Tenshi.


	26. Bevelle Wedding and a Leap of Faith

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I know my last chapter really rinked, and this one won't be any better. Sorry about that.

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(Bevelle, Tori's POV)

I was still having a hard time believe everything that happened. Though I was walking down the isle, with the very man I hated more than anything else, I was still in shock. When I'd woken up, after seeing Sin by Macalania temple, I'd found myself in a dark room, strangely, with Billy and Kimberly. When I first came to, I was scared out of my mind! I'd looked everywhere for my Guardians, only to find out, that I was the only one brought in.

Turned out, I was taken to the 'Summoners' Sanctum' that the Al Bhed had created to hold the Summoners. They said it was to protect them, and I understood why, but holding them against their will wasn't helping them.

Still, nothing I could say changed their minds. It turned out, Billy and Kimberly, who asked me to call her Kim, had also tried to talk their way out, to no avail. And besides Billy, there were no Guardians around. Imagine my surprise when Kim asked about Tommy, a look of worry written across her face.

And here, I'd thought she was a cold hearted witch.

Then, the gunfire came, along with explosions and the sounds of monsters. We'd all tried to defend ourselves when the Guado came rushing in, but Billy and Kim were overwhelmed easily.

I was given an ultimatum. Either go willingly and marry 'Maester' Lothor, or they'd be killed.

As much as I wanted to refuse, I couldn't let that happen. I was taken then, brought to Bevelle, where I tried to escape, only to be captured again and locked in my room. I tried everything I could think of, short of morphing and ninja streaking, or using my abilities in any way.

I knew why Lothor wanted to marry me, and I wasn't about to let him know I had more power than he thought. Who knew what he'd be capable of he found out?

All the while, my mind was also darting back and forth between what was happening, and Blake. Can you believe Lothor had the balls to tell me my Guardians were dead? I knew he was lying. They might not have been the same people I knew from earth, but I did know they wouldn't be brought down that easily!

And then, there was Blake! I knew. I _knew_ he'd come for me!

No matter how grim things ever got, he was always there to save me from trouble, and I knew this time wouldn't be any different.

Glancing at Lothor as we made our way down our respective paths, I glared at the man who was forcing me to marry him. If it wasn't for my duty to this world and my own, if it wasn't for my friends who still needed me, if it wasn't for _Blake_, I would've killed myself long ago!

I couldn't believe this was actually happening! I was about to marry an evil guy, who had to be twice my age, and I couldn't find a way out.

My only consolation, was that I had my staff on me. Somehow, the Aeons managed to use their powers to hide it from plain view until I needed it, and once I got close enough, away from all the guards, I could send him.

That was my plan, anyway.

I was beginning to get scared. As a highly trained water ninja and a Power Ranger, I didn't get scared often, but this definitely counted as one of the few times. We were getting closer to Maester Mika, who was performing the ceremony, and there was still no sign of Blake or the others.

Now we were side by side, but I did my best to keep as much space between us as possible as we continued on. I noticed the small grin on Lothor's face, and I wanted to beat him senseless right then, but decided against it.

_No..._ I thought as we reached the base of the stairs. I felt like I was going to be sick. It wouldn't be long now before I would be called Tori Watanabi, wife of Maester Lothor.

Suddenly, he looked up into the sky and frowned. Following his gaze, I noticed the largest cloud of pyreflies I'd ever seen and felt my heart thud painfully in my chest. Yes, I knew about Evrae, Bevelle's guardian, and Lothor's 'insurance' that nothing would go wrong.

This cloud of pyreflies just served to tell me that it had been destroyed, and I knew, the others had come!

_Blake._ I thought to myself, watching the multi-colored lights fade away. _I need you. Please hurry!_

Feeling a tight grip on my wrist, I turned to see Lothor glaring at me coldly. "Come." was all he said as he pulled me up the stairs. I lost the boquet of flowers and my veil flew off, but he didn't seem to care as he dragged me along behind him.

There was a loud sound of an engine, and Lothor stopped, looking into the sky with a scowl. I looked as well and felt a smile form on my face as I noticed the large airship that shot out grappling hooks that imbedded themselves back by the entrances to the palace.

'Fire!" Kinoc yelled as the Bevellian troups began firing on the airship. Machina's approached and also began to fire, but several figures began sliding down the chains towards us.

Seeing the all too familiar jean jacket and dark, slightly spikey hair, I let a full smile form on my face, and smirked with my back to Lothor. _Dead huh? They look pretty spy for dead._ I thought to myself in satisfaction.

My Guardians landed on the path, just as a fire from a machina snapped the lines, and they ran up to us, battling machinas and Bevelle troups as they ran.

Lothor pulled me harshly to the altar and turned to observe as they ran up.

"Tori!" Blake called with a smile.

All of a sudden, Kinoc pulled out a gun and points it at Blake's head, making my blood run cold. "This has gone on long enough!" he spat.

The remains of the guards quickly surrounded the group and aimed their guns at them. Blake looked ready to struggle, but Cam held him back. "Stop!" he called urgently.

Shooting me a helpless and terrified look, Blake listened to him and stopped moving.

Pulling my arm free sharply, I grabbed my staff and moved to stand in front of him. With a glare, I raised my staff to begin the sending when he stopped me.

"You would play at marriage, just to send me?" he asked with a chuckle. "Your resolve is admirable. All the more fitting to be my lovely bride."

Ignoring his words, I continued as I began to spin, but his voice turned stern, and his next words stopped me cold.

"Stop! Do you not value your friends' lives? Your actions determine their fate. Protect them...or throw them away. The choice is yours." His tone was light an uncaring, and for a split second, I imagined myself morphing and teaching him a few things about that saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned', but one look at my friends' helpless faces, surrounded by guns, and the look of fear from most of them, and I stopped.

Blake shook his head as he noticed I had given up and I shot him a sad look, wanting so badly to run to him and have him hold me tight.

Letting my arms fall to my side, I let go of my staff and it bounced down the steps to land at Blake's feet.

Lothor laughed before smiling at me. "You are wise." he said as he grabbed my arms and pulled me to him. Before I could question what he was doing, I felt his lips against my own and felt like I was going to be sick. I was half tempted to throw up in his mouth, just to get him to back the hell off, but he was still holding my friends captive, and there was nothing I could do but sit back and let him have his way.

But...that didn't mean I was about to kiss him back.

I clenched my fists at my side as he pulled away and fell against him, my weight resting in his one arm and my upper body probably hidden from my friends. I wanted to pull away and smack him. I wanted to yell and scream, scratch, kick and bite, but I was too emotionally drained to do anything, and could barely move to stand.

Then, he said the two words that gave me all my strength, and then some.

"Kill them."

He pulled far enough away from me as he watched them, that I was able to back away. Looking around, I knew I couldn't help them from where I was, until I saw the ledge. We were high up in a building, easily equivatlent to at least 40 feet, and there was nothing to keep me from plunging to my death.

As everyone's attention was turned to the others, I snuck over to the ledge and stood up on it. I was far enough away that he wouldn't be able to stop me, but close enough for me to hear their conversation.

Kinoc raised the gun once more, pointing it at Blake's temple. "I am sorry, but it is for Yevon." he said seriously, though I think we all doubted the seriousness of his words.

Cam also seemed to call him on that. "Aren't those weapons forbidden by Yevon?"

"These are exceptions" Kinoc said as he began to pull the trigger.

"NO!" I shouted, catching everyone's attention. I saw Blake's face pale and tears roll down his face, and smiled to him, before turning to glare at Lothor. "Throw down your weapons! Let them go, or else..." I trailed off as I took a single step backwards, setting myself on the very edge of the drop.

Lothor turned and nodded quickly to the others, making them lower their weapons.

"Go! Now!" I told the others firmly.

Shaking his head, Blake frowned. "You're coming with us!" he called.

I shook my own head with a smile as I brought my arms to my chest and crossed them so my hands were resting on my opposite shoulders. "Don't worry! Go!"

"This is foolish." Lothor said with an unimpressed frown. "If you fall, you'll die."

Looking at Blake, I let my smile show even more, reassuring him that I had a plan. Then I turned to Lothor and my smile became a smirk. "Don't worry. I can fly. Believe." I said as I let myself fall backwards off the ledge.

I heard Blake's horrified voice calling my name as I fell, and then Dustin said something about running. Then, there was silence, but for the sound of the wind all around.

As I plunged head first to the ground, I closed my eyes. _Please Valefor. I need your help. Come to me._ I prayed.

Bending at the waist, I opened my eyes and pulled my arms out from my body. From below me, a seal glowed, and I saw Valefor race towards me, it's wings folded as it hurtled to the ground ahead of me.

It passed me, and a moment later, I felt myself land heavily on a warm, feathered body. Looking up, I noticed Valefor looking at me in worry and smiled at it, before I looked towards the ledge and saw Lothor looking out. I was so far away that he was nothing but an annoying black dot, and I seriously doubted he could see much about me either, but for the fact that I was alive.

Riding on Valefor's back, I prayed to all that was holy that my friends were all right, and headed to the Bevelle temple, where I knew they'd go looking for me. After all, I _am_ a summoner!

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If you notice...I never actually said they got married. Sorry if I implied it, but as I described this scene, it made me reacall that since the ceremony was interrupted, the kiss wasn't to seal the marriage, but just something the bad guy did. So Tori's still Tori Hanson, and she's not married.

Well, hope you like this chapter...oops. Forgot I wasn't gonig to say that. Well, that's it for marriages, but Lothor will come back.

It'll still be at least two chaptersm if not three or four, before Tori and Blake's romantic scene.

Maybe try looking up Sutaki Da Ne if you want an idea about the romantic scene. Check it out on youtube, and see if you can find it. That's ONLY if you want to know what's coming.

Anyways, please R+R.

Thanks you.

Tenshi


	27. Via Purifico, Blake's Imprisonment

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Hey. I'm back with another chapter, but this might be the last for a few days. I'm sick and won't likely be up to writing until I'm better but that's not a guarantee that I _won't_ update. It just won't likely be as quick as the other updates.

I won't say anything more about this fic, because I think I've given you enough warnings and stuff and know you're probably really tired of hearing them. Besides, I'm having a blonde moment (no offence meant to blondes), so I don't know what else to say.

A side note though... In Final Fantasy X, Rikku refers to Yuna a lot as Yunie. An affectionate name. I realize how I could've called Tori Victoria, and had Dustin call her Tori as an affectionate term, but it's too late now, and it would screw up the Lady Victoria part that's...nevermind. LOL. The point is, it would screw it up.

**Pinklen98** : If he died, then it wouldn't be a happy ending, plus this isn't a character death fic. I just can't bring myself to kill off any characters. I'm supposed to, but I can't do it, though...I might have...no..but it won't be the main ones. This fic is based off of Final Fantasy X. Yes, there are at least 13 Final Fantasy games out there, and only Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2 are sequels. Final Fantasy VII (7), and Advent Children (The movie) are sequels as well, but I was talking about games LOL.

**JuseaPeterson** : Yep, that's what she got at Macalania. I'm just waiting for the time I'm going to have her use it, to mention it, but I think everyone already knows LOL. Oooohhh...I am SO sorry! I miscounted the number of chapters before the romance scene. I have to have them go through one more place before they go to the romantic place and have their moment. It IS coming up really soon. I'm SOOOO sorry!

The Summoner Blake thing was just a quick little thing on my mind that popped up. I'd already written the scene before I knew what I was doing LOL

All I will tell you for now, is that they have to run for their lives and fight a bit more, before they go and rest, and Blake and Tori have their moment. I didn't want to say anything, but I realized I miscounted the chapters until the scene, and know that people were disappointed. It IS coming up really soon, that's a promise peoples. :)

And Tori was about to be forcefully married to Lothor if Blake hadn't shown up. (Gets a baseball bat) Oh Lothor! Come out, come out, wherever you are! (Hunts down the evil space ninja with a sadistic look...turns to readers) Anyone want to help me beat him senseless for torturing poor Tori and Blake? Jusea, you can't cause you have to stay with Blake and console him. :)

Oopps...I went back on not saying much about the fic...sorry everyone LOL.

Anyways,,,,back to the fic...

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(Bevelle Temple, Normal POV)

As the group of Guardians left the palace, they went straight to the temple, where they hoped Tori would be. None of them knew if she was all right, but they convinced themselves that they had to follow her words and believe.

Blake was horribly pale and shakey as they finally made it to the temple, and it almost looked like he'd collapse, but he continued on strongly, resisting the urge to collapse and pass out.

Finally getting to the temple, they sighed in relief when they couldn't spot a single enemy soldier or machina behind them and relaxed a moment as they looked around. Something about this place didn't seem right, and Hunter called on it right away.

"It's too quiet. A trap perhaps?" he mused out loud.

"Who cares?" Blake groaned as he looked around. "We gotta find Tori."

"Huh?" Dustin spotted a control panel of some kind and walked over to it. He inspected it a moment before carefully hitting some keys.

Shane noticed him and frowned. "What's a machina doing in a temple?" he questioned. He still seemed to have a hard time believing that Yevon wasn't what he thought it was, or that they were betrayed by the Maesters, but he wasn't out right denying it anymore either.

"I suppose...it comes in handy." Dustin answered hesitantly, his attention still focused on the machina as he continued pressing keys.

Rolling his eyes, Shane shook his head. "That's not what I mean! The teachings! What about the teachings?"

Raising his hands for a moment, Dustin raised an eyebrow. "Hey! Don't look at me!" he whined.

Using the machina that Dustin got working, they went down to a lower level and found yet another large machine.

"Another one?" Shane asked in disbelief.

Cam sighed. "So this is Yevon's true face. They betray their own teachings." he mused out loud, obviously trying to knock some sense into Shane's thick skull.

"They treated us like dirt." the blitzer mumbled.

Getting to the next room, they sighed and took a moment to relax.

"The entrance to the trials." Hunter informed everyone, pointing to the door.

Dustin put a hand to his chin and tilted his head a bit. "I wonder if Tori's inside."

"Let's go and see!" Shane exclaimed, perking up ever so slightly.

Hunter nodded and agreed with him. "Let's go."

Travelling through this cloister was different from the others. Though you had to use spheres to unlock doors and passages, much like the other temples, the way through was a lot different. For one thing, instead of walking alot, you had to ride a machina pedestal, and you had to guide it through the different passegways. It was a little difficult, but they soon made it through, finding the doorway to the chamber of the Fayth.

"Tor?" Blake called as he looked around.

Shane shrugged and pointed to the door. "Inside maybe?"

"Then what're we standing around for?" he cried, rushing over and lifting the heavy door a bit.

Hunter and Dustin ran over, and each took a side of the door, allowing Blake to drop down on the ground, and roll under it, before they let it close behind him. He vaguely heard Shane complaining about what he was doing, and snorted quietly to himself. _You can stuff your taboos!_ he thought as his eyes adjusted to the dim room.

He was surprised to find Tori on her knees, deep in prayor to a transparent red headed man. The ghost, or Fayth, or whatever, looked at Tori for a long moment, before looking at him. He seemed to smile and nod, before he faded into a small cloud of pyreflies and flew into Tori's body, one lone pyreflies floating over to him and entering his body as well.

Frightened at what had just happened, he was shocked when he felt no different, but he somehow knew, he'd just acquired another Aeon, along with Tori.

Speaking of Tori, she collapsed in a dead faint over the stone statue in the floor. Kneeling at her side, he carefully picked her up bridal style, taking a moment to look at her beautiful face, and turned to walk out with her.

"Wait! Don't come out!" Dustin cried, but it was too late.

As he exited the chamber, holding the unconscious form of Tori, he noticed they were surrounded by soldiers, Kinoc standing behind them.

"There's the last of them." he stated, pointing to the last two. Shane shot him a glance that told him, he wasn't pleased, but Blake shot one back telling him to back off. "You are to stand trial." he said easily.

Cam snorted and rolled his eyes. "I assume it will be a fair trial." he said, though by the tone in his voice, even he doubted that much.

Kinoc smiled, though it was more of a smirk, and nodded. "Of course!" he said in a false sweet voice.

Everyone was captured, and taken to a large room. Tori was separated from them, much to the anger and worry of Blake, and they were escorted to a large boxed in area. A good 15 minutes later, and Tori was escorted it, dressed in her usual Summoner dress. She was taken to a small, mobile platform, and was forced to ride it up, the platform stopping and hovering halfway up to where Maesters Mika, Kelk, Lothor and Kinoc were standing.

The large Ronso walked forward, nodding to Tori on the platform. "The High Court of Yevon is now in session." he spoke gravely. "The sacred offices of this court seek nothing but aboslute truth, in Yevon's name. To those on trial, Believe in Yevon and speak only the truth."

Blake guessed this was his way of saying 'Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?', and from the look on Tori's face, he had a feeling her mind was following similar lines.

Hunter nodded to the Ronso and whispered in his ear. "Maester Kelk Ronso."

Grateful for the useless bit of information, Blake nodded silently, his eyes not trailing off of Tori who looked almost scared to be up there and separated from her Guardians.

"Summoner Tori. You have sworn to protect the people of Spira, is that correct?"

She nodded seriously. "Yes."

Kelk Ronso nodded, and looked a little confused. "Then consider, you have inflicted dire injury upon Maester Lothor Watanabi...conspired with the Al Bhed and joined their insurrection. These are traitorous and unforgivable crimes that disturb the order of Yevon. Tell this court what possessed you to participate in such violence."

Tori sighed and closed her eyes a moment, before they opened again, filled with anger and betrayal. "Your Grace...The real traitor is Maester Lothor!" she cried. "He killed his father Jyscal with his own hands!"

"What is this?!" Kelk cried, making everyone aware that he had no idea what was going on.

Lothor looked at him like nothing was happening. "Hmm? You hadn't heard?"

"Not only that..." Tori continued with a deadly glare at Lothor. "Maester Lothor is already dead!"

Hunter nodded and crossed his arms across his chest. "It is a Summoner's sacred duty to send the souls of the departed to the Farplane! Tori was only doing her duty as a Summoner!" he called out angrily.

Tori turned to the leader, Maester Mika, and sighed with a pleading look. "Grand Maester Mika...Please, send Lothor now!"

"Send the unsent to where they belong?" he asked, his tone obviously stating he was hiding something.

She nodded vigoruously. "Yes!" she cried.

He began to laugh, much to the confusion and suspicion of everyone.

"Maester?" Tori asked in confusion.

"Send the dead, hmmm...?" Pyreflies began to float from his body as he stared down at the others in contempt. "You would have to send me too."

"What?!" Shane yelled, looking at the second Maester who turned out to be undead and untrustworthy.

"Grand Maester Mika is a wise leader. Even in death, he is invaluable." Kelk said gravely, though his look seemed to be uncertain.

Kinoc nodded eagerly, obviously more all right with this idea than the other Maester. "Enlightened rule by the dead, is more preferable to the misguided failure of the living."

Lothor joined in. "Life is but a passing dream, but the death that follows is eternal." he said lightly, smiling all the while.

Blake couldn't believe this. Things just kept getting worse and worse! He wondered, just how they were going to get out of this one. Looking at Tori, he noticed how uncomfortable and concerned she was and would've given anything to be by her side just then.

"Men die. Beasts die. Trees die. Even continents perish. Only the power of death truly commands Spira. Resisting it's power is futile." Mika put in.

"But what of Sin? I am a Summoner, my Lord, like my father before me! I am on a pilgrimage to stop the death that Sin brings! Are you..." she trailed off and took a moment to take a deep breath. Focusing on the Maesters, she glared at them. "Are you telling me that too is futile? Grand Maester Mika, I am not alone! All the people who have opposed Sin...Their battles, their sacrifices..." She raised her voice considerably. "Are you telling me they were all in vain?!"

Mika shook his head. "Not in vain. No matter how many Summoners give their lives, Sin cannot be truly defeated. The rebirth cannot be stopped."

Somehow, Blake had a hard time believing that. A big part of him already knew that was either a bold faced lie, or that he simply didn't know any better. Blake already knew that the Aeons were a key part to befeating Sin, but not the final Aeon.

"Yet the courage of those that fight gives the people hope. There is nothing futile in the life and death of a Summoner."

Cam snorted. "Not futile yet never ending."

"Indeed." Mika agreed with him. "That is the essence of Yevon."

"Lord Mika!" Tori cried.

He shook his head and addressed her. "Yevon is embodied by eternal, unchanging continuity, Summoner."

She shook her head. "No...That _can't_ be right!" she cried.

Frowning, Blake crossed his arms over his chest. _Since when has anything about this world been right?_ he thought angrily.

"Those who question these truths...are traitors!"

She shook her head again. "Lord Mika!"

A few hours after the useless talk with the Maesters, and Blake found himself locked in a cage with Cam. The others were no where to be seen and he worried for them. Mostly though, he wondered if Tori was ok, and safe from Lothor. The thought of him stalking her was enough to have him digging at the metal baras and prying them with all of his strength to try and break them.

"Get me outta here!" he cried as he shook the bars of the cage. He was worried as hell about Tori, but none of the guards would answer his questions and it was pissing him off. "I want out now! You here me?"

"You're wasting your breath!" Cam called, effectively stopping his tirade.

Sighing, Blake turned his back to the bars and slid down them. Man, I hope Tori's ok."

"She's strong. She'll make it."

Raising an eyebrow, he regarded his cell companion. "She'll make it? What? So she can die? Why is it...that everything in Spira seems to revolve around people dying?"

"Ahh..." Cam nodded. "The spiral of death."

Looking at him in confusion, Blake narrowed his eyes. "Huh?"

"Summoners challenge the bringer of death, Sin, and die doing so." he stated easily. "Guardians give their lives to protect the Summoner. The Fayth are the souls of the dead. Even the Maesters of Yevon are unsent. Spira is full of death. Only Sin is reborn, and then, only to bring more death. It's a cycle of death, spiralling endlessly."

Nodding at that, though not at all liking the sounds of it, Blake sighed. Looking around, he noticed they were still alone, before turning his attention back to Cam. "But there _is_ a way to beat Sin permanently, right?"

He seemed to think about that a moment. "Yes, there is. But it is up to you to find it, for I don't know."

" 'Cause if I don't, Tor and I'll suffer the same fate as the other Summoners." he mumbled out loud.

Raising his eyebrow, Cam looked at him a minute in confusion, but hidden deep in his eyes were a knowing look. "You mean Tori will suffer the same fate, don't you?"

"That's what I said." Blake agreed with a distracteed nod.

"No, that is not what you said. Explain what you meant." he ordered.

Sighing, Blake looked at him silently for a long moment. "I'm like her." _Apparently, in a lot of ways. _"We're both from another world, both Rangers, and both Summoners."

"So you finally realized your powers." Cam stated with a chuckle.

Feeling his eyes widen, Blake glared up at the older man.

Cam nodded back. "If you recall, I was sent by the Fayth. Everything you are finding out, I was privy to at the beginning."

"So. All this time, you knew I could Summon. Why didn't you tell me?" he asked harshly.

"It was not my place and the Fayth asked me not to say anything until you recieve your powers."

"And Tor's? What about what happened after the fight with that Spheremorph?"

He nodded again. "I was aware that would happen as well. They will be needed soon. I am not sure when, but they will be invaluable to our survival, and possibly the key to destroying Sin once and for all."

"But...how? How did they bring her morpher here if her body's back on earth?"

"It isn't. They merged together, and will be split back apart when you go home." He seemed to hesitate. "If you can defeat Sin permanently."

"Oh I will." he muttered, shaking his head. "I'm _so_ not letting Tori die!"

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening was heard, and a moment later, Kinoc arrived by their hanging cage, unlocking the door and swinging it open as guards stood by him.

"Come out. Your sentence has been decided."

Cam snorted as they rose. "Don't you mean our execution?"

"Really now, what kind of person would execute a dear friend?" Kinoc asked with false sweetness in his voice.

Glaring at him, the older Guardian shook his head. "You would." he answered with a hint of disgust.

They were forcibly dragged out of the cell and separated, and Blake once again found the pang of being along. He was dragged to a large drop off, and looked over it carefully, seeing a light reflecting through deep clear water far below.

"Looks like you're next." a guard behind him sneered.

Turning to look at him, he frowned. "Next for what?"

His only answer was to be pushed backwards off the drop off, and with a startled yelp, he fell into the cool waters below, only to surface and splutter, glaring at the guard.

The guard only sneered in response. "Get going!"

"What about the others?" Blake demanded as his blade was thrown down near him. He raised an eyebrow about that, but chose not to say anything. At least they were giving him a fighting chance.

"Probably floating around down there somewhere." the guard called back before turning and leaving.

Blake was stuck thinking for a moment. He could use his ninja powers to get back up that drop, but then, who knew how many guards he'd have to fight? And then there were Lothor and the other Maesters, who, without the help of his friends, he didn't stand a chance against. Then, there was the fact that at least one of his friends would likely be down here with him, and he wouldn't feel right leaving them down here.

And finally, his thoughts turned to Tori. The thought that she might be down here with him, excited him and made him feel batter, but the chances of her being someplace else, was even bigger, and it made him worry.

Sighing, he turned and looked towards the exit. There was enough space for him to swim with his head above water, but chances were, there were fiends down there, so he'd likely have to morph. Looking back at the drop off, he realized it was too dangerous to do so here, so he swam out, down one corridor and turning down another. The water looked to easily be about 10 to 15 feet deep and easily 10 feet wide, and the water shone a brilliant blue from the underwater lights that lit the corridors.

Honestly, he was worried about what he'd find.

"Oooh!" Looking up from the water, he noticed Shane floating nearby with his blitzball. "You made it!" he cried as he swam over to Blake.

Frowning, he nodded. "So...what's our sentence?"

"Think they expect us to give up and die down here." he responded with a shake of his head.

Blake had to snort at that. "Well, that's a lame way to kill someone." Then he mentally rolled his eyes at himself. They just realized they had a chance to escape, and he was complaining on how they decided to try and kill them?

All of a sudden, splashing was hear, and the looked back to see Dustin swimming towards them with a relieved smile on his face. When he got up to them, he looked around to notice that the others weren't there and frowned. "Where's Tori?" he questioned.

"I dunno." Blake answered with a shrug.

"Wonder if we should wait for her?" Shane thought out loud.

Shaking his head, Blake sighed. He really doubted they'd throw her down here. "Let's wait for her at the exit."

"If this place _has_ an exit." Dustin mumbled warily.

Nodding, they began swimming and had made it down another corridor, only to be surrounded by jellyfish-type fiends. Blake groaned and raised his morpher, knowing that the battle would be an underwater one, and morphed. "Thunder Storm! Ninja Form! HA!" he called, going through the appropriate motions, and was soon clad in his Navy armour.

"So that's how you transform, ya?" Shane asked as he bounded his blitzball off the head of one of the fiends.

He nodded.

Together, they went into battle for their lives, but all the while, Blake couldn't help but worry about Tori.

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That's a long chapter due to a long note at the beginning. I'm not feeling well, but wanted to get this chapter up, so you all knew I was sick, and might not be updating as fast for a little bit. Don't you just love summer colds?

Anyways, thank you all for your reviews. It means so much to read them:)

(Sighs) They got separated from Tori...again. Oh boy...I hope she's all right. You'll find out next chapter.

R+R please.

Thank you for your patience

Tenshi.


	28. Tori's Imprisonment and a Battle

**Disclaimer**I don't own anything.

**Note** : For those of you interested, this is part of the marriage scene I wrote about. If you check the other listed videos on the right hand sode of the screen, there should be more as well.

This is just a video with screen shots done to the long version of 1000 Words. It might give you a taste of what to expect in the games, and what I've written and stuff.

**JuseaPeterson** - Remember my fic 1000 Words? ... ... This is where I got the idea. Hope you like it.

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(Tori's imprisonment)

When she finally came to, Tori had a massive headache and found herself in what appeared to be underground ruins of some sort. There were areas with piles of debris that reached the ceiling, and others with the occassional glyph on the wall. It was dark, it was dank, and she could hear the fiends roaming around.

And with a look around, she realized she was alone.

This _wasn't_ going to be easy!

With only her staff and Aeons as her weapons, she'd have to rely solely on the Aeons, since her staff wouldn't do much damage at all. Moving to stand up, the feeling of something wrapped around her left wrist brought her mind back to her other weapon, that she forgot all about.

Seeing a large green fish-like fiend approaching, she sighed and got to her feet. Taking her stance, she realized she had no other choice.

"Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" she called out as she morphed into the all too familiar blue spandex outfit with her ninja sword. Grabbing it and powering it up to Gold Mode, she attacked the fish head on, bringing it down in no time.

"Sweet!" she cheered as the fiend faded away. _I have _SO_ missed this!_ Heading to the nearest corridor, she figured, she might as well try to find her wya out of that place and hoped the others would be all right. Then, a loud roar, and the earth shaking trample of footsteps made her slowly turn around...

...To find herself facing a massive Behemoth!

The thing was blue, it was covered in purple fur, had giant horns sprouting from it's head, and looked like a mutated, man-eating wolf monster of some kind.

It easily dwarfed a lot of her Aeons, and made her feel like an ant. "Holy shit!" she cried, forgetting to watch her mouth. "That thing's _HUGE!_" Realizing it was about to attack, she felt her eyes widen and shook her head. "Oh _hell_ no! I'm _so_ not fighting that alone!" she cried as she tapped into her ninja skills and streaked down the hallways, finding Hunter in a matter of seconds.

When he saw a streak of blue, tranforming into a feminine figure that was cloaked similarly to Blake, and was running towards him, he quickly got into a defensive stand, calling his magic to him. He knew it couldn't be Blake. As little as he knew about the powers, the shape of the figure, as well as the skirt on her uniform, clearly suggested it was a woman.

"Whoa! Relax Hunter, it's me." came Tori's calming voice as she raised her hand to her shoulder. "Power Down!" she called, and her uniform disappeared to show her in her Summoner attire once again.

"T-Tori?" he stuttered.

She nodded. "Remember back at Macalania? That's what I got from Cam." she explained. Shaking her head in relief, she ran over and hugged him tightly. "It's so good to see you! I thought I was the only one here!" she cried as she relaxed. Pulling away, she looked into his eyes. "Any sign of the others?"

He shook his head. "I overheard that Blake, Shane and Dustin were taken to another labrynth. I believe the others are here, but I haven't seen them yet."

She nodded again. That was a huge relief. At least she knew, Blake was all right. "Let's go find them then."

Together, they took a path to the left and walked down the corridor. Hearing the sounds of the Behemoth she'd met up with earlier, Tori hesitated, but then, hearing the sound of a sword being swung in the air, she exchanged looks with Hunter before running down and around the corner.

What surprised them, was seeing Cam fighting the Behemoth from before. He was keeping himself alive, but wasn't managing to do much damage. Tori ran over and healed him before backing away and Summoning her newest Aeon, Bahamut.

Hunter took that time to cast a thundaga spell, and jump out of the way.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar, and everyone looked up to see the dark clouds forming over them. A large dragon came barreling through them with it's wings folded along it's sides, and plummeted head first to the ground, only to turn upright at the last moment and land harshly on the cemented floors of the dungeon, causing a large impact mark on the ground due to it.

Unfolding it's arms, Bahamut let out another roar, and glared at the Behemoth.

"Impulse attack!" Tori called.

Bringing it's arms to it's sides, four balls of dark energy formed. One on the tip of each wing, and one in front of each hand. Throwing it's arms forward, the balls of energy were sent at the Behemoth and stunned it, vaporizing the flans that had been sneaking up behind it.

With one more attack from Cam and Hunter, the Behemoth was brought down, Tori dismissed Bahamut, and they ran towards where the exit was...

...Only to run into Billy on the way.

"Lady Tori...So it is you!" he stated, shock and confusion written all over his face.

She tilted her head a bit and sighed. "Why are you here?"

"We rode the airship to the Calm Lands, then came to Bevelle. Maester Kinoc summoned us then. Ordered us to, 'deal with the traitors'."

"You will fight us then?" Cam asked, unsheathing his sword.

Hunter got ready to cast his magics, but hesitated when he saw the look Billy gave Tori.

"The temple's orders are law. Even if you are Lord Braska's daughter...you are a traitor! Forgive me, Lady Tori." With a sigh, he pulled out a staff. "Your Aeons against mine!"

With a nod, she quickly summoned Valefor. She would've chosen Bahamut, but she had a feeling he had a Bahamut too and wanted to get the most difficult Aeon done with first.

Indeed, when he saw that she had summoned Valefor, he spun his staff, and Bahamut appeared.

Luckily for Tori, her Aeons were all at maximum power. "Valefor! Energy Ray attack!" she called as she moved behind the bird-like Aeon.

A laser appeared in it's mouth as it reared it's head back, and shot forward. As intended, the laser hit the ground under the Aeon, causing a violent quake under it and a burst of fire from the ground.

Bahamut staggered back, but was not badly hurt. Hunter took this time to charge a spell, when Tori's voice stopped him.

"No! This is my fight!" she called to him as she sent Valefor to attack with it's claws.

Billy's Aeon counterattacked with a swipe of it's massive claw, but Valefor managed to avoid it. As it was a flying Aeon, it was able to avoid most ground attacks, making it difficult to hit.

She sent Valefor to attack with it's claws, followed by having it cast a blizzaga spell.

Bahamut staggered to the ground and collapsed, fading away into pyreflies. Next, Billy summoned Ifrit. "It's not over yet!" he called.

Dismissing Valefor, it was Tori's turn and called Ixion. Shiva would've been a good choice as Ifrit was weak against ice, but then again, Shiva was weak against fire. As the portal next to her opened and the large thunder unicorn jumped out with a whinny, she back up bext to it. "Ixion! Thor's Hammer!" she called.

A ball of lightning formed around it's horn to explode and shot out as an energy beam to surround Ifrit and lift it into the air as the electrical energies surrounded the fire Aeon. With another burst of energy, a second ball of lightning was released along the energy beam and hit it directly, causing a major explosion, and Ifrit was dropped back down, causing a lot of damage.

"You are strong." Billy admitted with a sad smile. "Ifrit, Meteor Strike!"

"Shield!" she countered, causing her Aeon to immediately put up a shield to block the attack. It still got hurt, but not nearly as bad. "Counter with blizzaga!"

The spell hit Ifrit hard and brought him down, causing him to fade away and reveal the slight scowl on Billy's face. "I cannot let you pass!" he cried, suumoning Shiva next.

Shaking her head sadly, Tori was more than up to the challenge. She dismissed Ixion and called out Bahamut. Standing next to the ice goddess, she was easily dwarfed, and poor Billy paled a bit, but refused to back down. "Bahamut, attack." she called sadly, already knowing she'd won the battle.

The giant dragon jumped forward and swung at Shiva, but she surprisingly avoided it with a nimble jump to the side. Nodding to herself a bit, Tori reminded herself that Shiva was fast and agile. "Impulse!" she instructed next, knowing the Aeon wouldn't be able to avoid it.

The four energy blasts combined and hit the Aeon, sending her flying a few feet, and she struggled to get to her feet again afterwards. "Shiva, thundaga!"

"Just give it up." Tori groaned to herself as the spell hit her Aeon. "Counter with firaga" she called.

Once the fire spell hit Shiva, she was down for the count, leaving Billy defeated and lying on the ground. Dismissing Bahamut, she takes a step to Billy, but he quickly scoots back, looking confused and scared. "Stay away!" he calls before he sighs and points a shakey hand to a passage way off to the right. "There's an exit to the surface that way." he says in a small voice.

Nodding to him, the trio walks past, but for Cam who pauses long enough to say sternly to the floored Summoner, "Your pilgrimage ends here." and walking to join the others.

Reaching the exit, they passed through, only to find the others already there. With a relieved cry, Tori ran over to Blake and hugged him tightly, never wanting to let him go, while the others reunited and teased them.

""Tori!" Dustin called as they parted, running up to them. "You're all right? It's good to have you back!"

"Thank you." she said in a relieved voice, looking to everyone.

Blake rubbed the back of his neck and looked uncomfortable about something as he walked back up to her. "Uhh...I ummm..."

Suddenly, Lothor, Kinoc and a bunch of guard surround them, though Kinoc isn't walking, because he's being carried by the collar, having obivously been killed. Once Lothor sees he has their attention, he drops the dead body and laughs.

"Kinoc!" Cam yelled angrily as he glared at Lothor.

Blake shook his head and glared at the enemy as well, unsheathing his blade. "You sick..."

"I have saved him." Lothor ct him off pleasantly. "He was a man who craved power, and great power he had, but he feared losing it. Trembling at unseen enemies, he spent his days scheming petty schemes. Chased by his fears, never knowing rest."

Tori rolled her eyes at this. _Not another speech!_ she thought mentally as she held her staff tightly.

Giving her a raised eyebrow, Lothor continued. "You see...Now he has no worries. He has been granted sleep eternal. Death is a sweet slumber."

_Why don't you die then?!_ Tori was ready to scream.

"All the pain of life is gently swept away...Ah, yes. So you see...if all life were to end on Spira, all suffering would end. Don't you see?" He laughed. "Don't you agree? That, Tori, is why I need you. Come Lady Tori. Come with me to Zanarkand, the lost city of the dead. With death on our side, we will save Spira."

She barely held back a snort at that. _This guy makes our Lothor look like a saint! God! He's completely looney!_

"And for this...I will take from you, your stength, Tori, your life, and become the next Sin. I will destroy Spira! I will save it!" he cried as he cackled evilly.

Blake shook his head. "You're completely nuts!" he cried, following Tori's thoughts to a T.

"I won't let you!" she cried as she shook her own head.

"Unpleasant..." Lothor said with a sigh as they prepared for battle. "Very well then. I wil give you your death. You seem to want it so."

The guards and Kinoc's body, all turned to pyreflies, being absorbed by Lothor, and used to change him into a hideous monster. He grew in size, and his skin turned a pale gey color as his face decayed slightly and horns grew from his forehead as his hands turned to claws.

"Ew." Tori muttered as she tilted her head and looked at him a moment.

Dustin took that distraction to throw down a bomb that flashed brilliantly, and Tori was dragged away.

"Go!" Cam shouted fomr somewhere nearby as she blinked to clear her vision.

She heard Blake struggle. "No way! I'm fighting!"

"I said, go!" Cam insisted louder this time.

They ran quite a ways befre Tori tugged them to a stop. "No! He has to be stopped before more innocents are killed!" she cried.

"We must protect you, Tori. We can't stay behind and risk you getting killed!"

Blake nodded and smirked. "That's right!"

She turned to glare at him but the look on his face stopped her.

"We're all Guardians! Yeah! That means, that anywhere Tori goes, we follow!" he cried, looking to the others who nodded in agreement.

She gave him a surprised look. "Anywhere I go?" she repeated.

He nodded. "Yeah, anywhere!"

With a smile, she turned back to where Lothor was. "Well then, let's go!" she cried as she and Blake headed back to where Lothor stood.

"Hey! Wait for me, ya!" Shane called.

"Me too!" Dustin insisted.

Hunter took off after them. "I'll go too!"

As the group reached Lothor, they surrounded him in a circle and began their assault. Tori cast protective magics on everyone, as Cam readied his blade. The others saw it was not about to be a normal attack, so they stayed out of the way, but Hunter cast a thundaga spell as Cam swirled around, spinning his blade around him three times as energies crackled around his body.

Swinging his blade in Lothor's direction, a large pillar of wind formed and surged towards the evil, mutated Maester, and picked him off the ground, turning into a powerful tornado. Hunter's thundaga spell hit it, making it that much more violent, and right before it faded, Cam took the sake (alcohol) bottle off his hip and threw it into the vortex, causing a large explosion of fire and turning the tornado into a pillar of fire.

Once it faded, Lothor hit the ground and staggered back a bit, before straightening up, and Blake rushed at him with his charged blade, flipping and hitting him twice, but before he was able to finish the attack, he was knocked back and fell to the ground cringing, holding his stomach and wincing in pain, as an invisible tentacle of energy hit him.

Hunter rushed to stand in front of him as he cast ultima on Lothor, and Tori knelt by his side, casting a powerful cure spell and healing his wounds and pain.

All of a sudden, there was a piercing scream, and the others all turned to find Dustin with a spear sticking out of his stomach as he fell to the ground unmoving. Tori screamed and raced over as Blake stood up shakily and knelt by his side as well. He grasped the bloody spear and managed to pull it out with a sickening plop, and threw it away from the fight as Tori cast a life spell and then a cure in rapid procession.

"His skin." Blake muttered, pointing the pale coloration of his skin, out and Tori nodded, casting an esuna to cure the poison.

Groaning, Dustin slowly woke up, muttering in Al Bhed, and frowned as he got to his feet. "Cred! (Shit!)" he cursed as he glared at Lothor. "Owie!" Pouting, he reached into the pouch and pulled out a potion and hi-potion. Mixing them together, he threw them down on the group and a gas was released that the group breathed in, healing all their wounds right up.

Cam, Hunter and Shane had kept beating on him as the others healed him up, and when Tori looked back to the battle, he was staggering weakly.

Dustin threw a grenade at him, and then Blake charged him and the last attack finished him off.

As they left the scene of the fight, Tori couldn't help but realize that she'd lost something. As much as she was earth's Tori...Spira's Tori was inside her as well, and she couldn't help but feel shaken when she realized that everything this other version of her had been raised to believe in, had all been a lie.

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**JuseaPeterson** - The _next_ chapter is the one you've been looking for! I hope you like it.

Chapter 28's up. Am I boring anyone yet? LOL

R+R please.

Thank you for your patience.

Tenshi.


	29. Macalania Romance

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ahhh...finally...the chapter I've (and probably (you've) been waiting for.

I'm not sure if everyone understands about how Lothor keeps coming back, so I'll try to explain. He's an unsent, and unsents can keep coming back unless they are sent. Fiends are different, because they are alive and no longer unsent. Unsents are human/ronso/guado people who died without accepting their deaths. They would've likely died from murder, natural disasters, or from Sin's attack. Basically, sudden and harsh deaths...I think.

Take Kilika. Many people died sudden and harsh deaths due to Sin's attack, so Tori had to send.

Or Mi'ihen...Sin attacked and many people died...again.

Or in Jyscal's case...he was murdered and came back to warn people of his son.

In Lothor's case, he came back because he was murdered (in self defense), and still wants power.

Ok...back on to the fic.

Oh yeah...** JuseaPeterson** - Here's the chapter you've been searching for.

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(Macalania, again, Blake's POV)

Running out of Bevelle, we were surprised to find ourselves back in Macalania woods, but Cam led us off to a path to the left, and then took a path to the left again, leading us all to a camping area

As we rested by a campfire, Cam took off to see if we were being followed. We were all on edge, and when Tori left as well, saying she needed some time to herself, none of us felt safe letting her go, but we did, trusting her to take care of herself.

I was confused. I wanted to follow her and talk to her, and now seemed like the perfect chance, but I really didn't know what to say. Should i go up to her and confront her about what I knew, or hide it and see if she told me? Honestly, I really didn't expect her to tell me anything, and knew that the only way for her to open up was to admit I already knew.

I was still in shock. I couldn't believe that Tori had embarked on a mission like this, knowing she would die. What was Spira's Toris thinking, to do something like this? Or...was she thinking like mine? Worrying about the people of Spira more than herself. I guess it made sense. Worry about the needs of the many, rather than the needs of one, but I was selfish.

I was worrying about her.

So lost in my thoughts was I, that when Cam came back, I felt myself jump a bit. He looked grim, but relieved at the same time. I wasn't really sure what to make of it, but it helped me to relax a bit.

"Well?" Shane asked, seemingly in need of good news.

Cam nodded as he sat down next to the fire. "We're all clear. We'll have to avoid Bevelle in the future." He looked around, as if trying to find something before turning back. "Tori?"

Dustin sighed. "She said she wanted to be alone."

"Of course." Cam mimicked Dustin's sigh. He turned to me and raised an eyebrow. Leaning close, he shot me a look. "That doesn't mean you too, you know." he whispered under his breath.

Yeah, I _did_ know, but I was also scared of facing her at that moment. With a sigh, I got up and left the camp site, walking to the opposite path and going down to a spring, surprised to find Tori wading waist deep in the shallower part of it.

She turned to find me behind her and offered me a small wave before turning back around. "I always thought this would be easier somehow." she said to herself, though I wasn't sure what she meant. "I thought that everyone would help me...with all of my friends together, beside me. I've been trying so hard."

Ahh, so she was talking about the pilgrimage, of course. Wading out into the water with her, I stood beside her, looking out over the large spring. "Maybe you're trying too hard." I sighed and lowered my head, not able to face her. "They told me...everything." I admitted.

Tori spun to face me, her face a mix of horror and sadness. "Everything?" I nodded and she turned baack out to the water. "Well, so then...you know."

_Yeah_. "I'm sorry." The words were out before I knew what I was saying, and with a sigh, I continued. "It's just...you know. All those things I said to you, and all that time I never knew..." Trailing off, I blinked back tears that came to my eyes. With a small shake of my head, I continued again. "I'm sorry, if I made you sad."

"I wasn't sad." she said with a slight smile. "I was happy."

Nodding, I moved further into the water and swam around, floating on my back so I could still see and hear her. "Tori. Just don't do it." I said.

"The pilgrimage?" she asked, looking confused.

I was taking a big risk. Who knew how she'd react, but I had to try. Even the possibility of losing her to Sin was too much for me to handle. "Yeah. That's right. Just forget all about Sin, about being a Summoner. You know, live a normal life." _Or about as normal as a Ranger's life can get._ "Come on now, Tori, what do you say?" I tilted my head to look at her, but she was facing the water, and her soaked hair cloaked her face, blocking it from my view.

"Maybe I will." she said uncertainly, before laughing a little. "Wouldn't everyone be surprised?"

"Yeah. Dustin would support you right away, and Hunter and Shane wouldn't hold out too long."

"But Sir Cam..."

Sighing, I floated towards her. "I'll make him understand. It's the least I can do."

She shook her head and looked at me, a small smile on her face and a new light in her eyes. "No, I should tell him. He deserves it. But...what'll we do if I give up the pilgrimage?"

"I dunno. Why don't we ask the Aeons to send us home? They might put up a fight about it, but I'm sure they'd understand." I perked up a little and grinned. "Or maybe Dustin can work on one of our morphers and fix it up so we can get ahold of our friends back on earth! They can come and pick us up and take us home!" I knew i was being selfish, but I didn't want to lose her!

"And then we can go to the track!" she agreed excitedly. "I can watch you race, and I'd cheer and cheer...until I couldn't cheer anymore!" she was smiling excitedly now.

I nodded. "Sweet!" I remembered back to when the others would come and watch my bro and me race, and I felt so happy to think we could go back to that.

"Well, what about after the race?"

"We'll go to the beach and watch the sunset together. Just the two of us." I said, before I realize I'd practically just asked her out on a date.

She giggled and we looked at each other. Raising an eyebrow, she smirked. "Are you asking me out, Mr. Bradley?" she asked in a teasing voice.

Blushing, I nodded. "I guess I am. I didn't even think about it, but...It'd be nice." Closing my eyes, I could just see it too. "We can go to the beach and camp out all night. Then we can wake up just before dawn and watch the sunrise. Watch as the stars fade...the the horizon glows, almost like it's on fire. I can just see it too. First the sea'll glow orange, then it spreads to the sky, then to all of Blue Bay." I described with a happy sigh. "It gets brighter and brighter, till everything glows! It's really...beautiful." My mind turned to Tori instead of the sunset, but I struggled to finish what I was saying. "I know you'd like it."

"I'd like to see it." she said softly. "With all my surfing, I've never been there for the sunrise."

"Well you can, Tor. We'll both go."

The sound of sniffles and sobs caught my ear, and I turned in the water, finding a soaked Tori crying. She had her hand over her mouth and seemed to be trying to muffle her sobs, but they were escaping anyways. The tears poured out of her eyes and she held such a helpless and vulnerable look that I felt my heart break just from watching her.

"Tor..." I whispered as I swam over to her and stood up in the chest high water she'd waded out to.

"I can't." she whispered. "I just can't! I can't go!" she cried as her sobbing turned more violent.

"Tori." I said softly as she looked up at me. I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes as she looked at me so sadly. I couldn't hold back anymore. Looking at her and seeing her like that, I snapped.

The next thing I knew, her face was coming closer. I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers as my eyes closed, so I was oblivious to how her eyes widened a moment before she returned the kiss. All I knew was the warm, soft feeling of her lips against mine and her body pressed firmly against mine.

Soon, I barely registered the feeling of water all around us and pulled back a moment to notice that we were under the water, floating and spinning around each other slowly. Leaning back in, I kissed her again, aware that she was linking her hand with mine, intwining our fingers together and holding tightly as she kissed me back, equally as passionate.

All too soon, we needed to breathe, and pulled back to surface and take in the precious air. Our eyes remained locked and she pulled me to her, kissing me even deeper than I had kissed her, and deepening it as we sank back under. This time, when she pulled away, I smiled at her as she floated away from me, and spun in the water, watching as she giggled silently and tilted her head, pushing herself through the water to swim towards me.

We embraced again, and I held her tightly to me as I kissed the side of her head. She wrapped her hands around my waist and held on tightly as well, as we swam for the surface. Once we broke the surface of the water, I looked at her and noticed how drained she looked, so I pulled her to the shore, where we sat beside each other and she leaned against me with a contented sigh.

"I'll continue." she said with a resigned voice. "As much as I'd love to just forget it, I can't. I have to do this. If I was to give it up now, after everything we've been through...I could do anything I wanted, but...I wouldn't be able to forget."

As much as I wanted to argue, as much as it hurt to know she could die, I couldn't. I felt the same way. As much as I wanted to just stop and leave, I couldn't. Too many people counted on me. "I'll go with you. I'm your Guardian after all, unless...I'm fired?" I said in a slightly teasing voice.

Tori closed her eyes with a soft smile and shook her head. "Stay with me until the end, please." she almost pleaded.

I shook my head. "No. Not until the end." I felt her stiffen up and wrapped my arm around her waist comfortingly. Leaning in to her ear, I whispered the rest. "Not until the end. Always."

She relaxed immediately and nodded with her smile back. "Always, then." she agreed. Sighing, she shook her head and pulled away. "Maybe you should head back to camp first." Raising an eyebrow, she giggled. "They may be different from the people we know, but you know how they'll be."

I nodded. Yeah, I knew. They'd tease us about 'what we did' and Cam would likely give us a lecture about being irresponsible. It made me once again think of the Cam we knew, how he'd always go on about responsibility and stuff. As much as I wouldn't out right admit it to just anyone, I missed him. Hell, I missed everyone, even Marah and Kapri. "Sure." I answered with a smile as I stood.

I'd headed to the entrance of the spring, when I heard a sharp whistle. Spinning around, I was met with Tori running up to me with a smile. "Wait. I'll come with you." she said as she took my hand.

Squeezing her hand back, I nodded and we went back to the campfire together, both feeling content, but also worried about what the future held for us.

When we finally got back to the campfire, everyone was staring at us, and I felt my face heat up. I was thankful it was dark, and we were farenough away from the fire, that at least my blush probably wasn't noticeable. I felt Tori squeeze my hand slightly and I squeezed back, letting her know I was there with her.

"Sir Cam? Shane? Hunter? Dustin? Everyone, we leave at dawn. And...and I'm sorry for putting you all through this. And..ummm-"

Cam shook his head. "Enough." he said gently, cutting her off. "You need your rest."

She nodded. "Yes. Goodnight."

I nodded as well as she reluctantly pulled away. Smiling, I watched as she went over to her bedroll and laid down. As much as I might be worried for her, I also felt lighter, more carefree. I think it was because, no matter what came at us now, we'd face it together.

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Ok, so this chapter was shorter than I expected. I hope you like it anyways.

I wasn't going to post this chapter until tomorrow, but for certain readers, I just HAD to post it today for them:) Hope you liked it, I really tried.

The Macalania Romance. Yay! I finally got it done:)

R+R please!

Thank you for your patience.

Tenshi.


	30. Calm Lands

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I'm glad you like my fic, and I'm really glad you liked chapter 29! I'm still sick, but I'm getting better. Have to love herbal teas.

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(Calm Lands)

The next morning at dawn, we headed out to the Calm Lands. Tori stayed by my side for the travel, and I caught the curious and warning looks Hunter shot me as well as the sky looks Dustin was shooting me. As it was, I chose to ignore them and pay attention to anything _but_ them.

The farther we went along the path Cam led us, the more the ice and crystal trees and plants faded, and the warmer the air got. Soon, the plants faded away entirely, and the path became greener with life as we were surrounded with high cliffs.

As we made our way along the path, I wanted to question about the Calm Lands, like, how did they get that name? But instead, chose to remain silent and grasp Tori's hand. She shot me a shy smile, with a light pinkish blush staining her cheeks, before she looked away. Looking at her, I noticed how the sun shone down, highlighting her light blonde hair and pale complexion.

She truly was so beautiful.

We must've been walking for a good two hours before we finally made it to a ridge, and over that ridge, I gasped at what I saw. When they said Calm Lands, I thought of rolling hills possibly surrounded by trees and forest. I knew I shouldn't expect anything, since I still knew nothing about this world, but what I actually _saw_ made my eyes widen.

It wasn't a grassy knoll, or a forested area or anything I could've expected, but an immense field with the odd rocky spike jutting out of the ground. The only sign of civilization in the area, was a travel agency in the middle of the place, but the field itself...it was easily the size of Blue Bay, I figured. I could see where it ended, but knew it would probably take most of the day to cross.

"The Calm Lands." Hunter stated as he looked out over the green plain with slight barren spots here and there. "Long ago, the High Summoners fought Sin here. The road ends here. Beyond, there's no towns, no village. Only endless plain."

_Thanks bro, but I could already see that._ I thought dryly, taking in the sight. I guessed, the name seemed to suit the place, because something about it did seem rather calming, but when I saw the unusual fiends roaming the area, that feeling quickly faded. "The hell?" I questioned, seeing a large, tentacled monster with several eyes and a giant mouth crawlying by. It was green and looked to be a plant, but from the size of it, it looked able to eat a chocobo whole if it wanted.

"Malboros." Tori explained. "They're weak against fire, and you have to be careful. They can use Bad Breath attack."

That made me laugh. I could just picture the fiend running up to us and breathing on us, making us faint from the stink. I knew i shouldn't find it funny, but they way she stated it, and the images it gave me, I couldn't help it.

Beside me, Tori giggled a little, obviously getting the same images, before she sighed and turned serious. "You don't understand. Bad Breath attack can cause all sorts of status ailments. Blind, silence, poison, slow, confuse..." she trailed off with a wince. "One of those things can take us down easier than anything else."

Nodding, I frowned. Turning to Hunter, I folded my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow. "Knowing a fire spell might come in handy then." I stated, hoping he'd get the hint.

"You do the same thing you do for thunder, but focus on fire energy." he stated, though it only served to confuse me more. I honestly didn't even remember how I focused my thunder energies, but with a sigh, I closed my eyes and tried to think about it.

"Try associating it with an emotion, like anger." Cam suggested.

I nodded and tried it. I forced myself to remember all the times Tori had been tortured by Lothor, and once again, felt my anger rising. Latching on to that, I focused the energies into my hands, imagining an orange flame appearing. I felt my hands heat up and heard multiple gasps, and when I opened my eyes, I couldn't help but gast as well. In my hand was a fall of fire.

A _Navy_ ball of fire.

Tilting his head, Hunter studied my fire spell with a raised eyebrow. "That's...a first." he mumbled.

Tori nodded. "Think it has something to do with your Ranger Powers, Blake?"

Pursing my lips, I let go of my concentration and the ball of fire flickered out. "Well...Navy lightning and navy fire. Navy Ranger. It does make sense, I guess." I mumbled as I looked at my now empty hand.

Clearing his throat, Cam caught everyone's attention. "This is all _quite_ fascinating, but can we please continue?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, right." I muttered, walking over to him, casting Hunter a glance. "Thanks for teaching me that."

He nodded. "You got it right away. You have talent." he said with a small smile.

With a small smile, I realized, that was the second time I've been told that since I came here. First was from Shane who was complimenting my swordsmanship in Kilika, and now Hunter who complimented my abilities to cast magic.

Part of me wondered if I'd be able to use these abilities back on earth. They'd sure come in handly against Lothor. Thinking of that vile monster made me shudder and I glared at the ground. I realized I now had even more reason to hate him.

Feeling, something nudge my arm, I turned to see Tori smiling at me as we approached Cam. Turning my attention to him, to keep him from whining, I nodded. "So...the Calm Lands?"

He nodded in return, apparently happy that our attention was back on the task at hand. "Many Summoners stray from their path and lose their way here."

Tori sat down in the grass before laying down with her hands spread out beside her. With a sad look, she watched the few clouds in the sky. "I've always known where to go." she muttered softly.

Sighing, I sat next to her and leaned over to look down into her eyes. "Hey. It'll be all right. I'm with you and I'm not gonna let you die. I promise." Leaning even more forward, I gently brushed my lips against hers and smiled when I pulled away. "I won't lose you." I whispered.

"But...how?" she murmured quietly, blushing slightly as she looked back into my eyes.

With a shrug, I frowned. "I'm not sure, but I think they key lies in our morphers and the Aeons." Shuddering a bit, I didn't want to think of what we might have to do. Giving her a determined look, I nodded. "I dunno yet, but I _will_ save you." I vowed.

Tori surprised me by leaning forward and kissing me lightly. When she pulled back, she looked a little reassured and I gave her a soft smile. "Let's go." she said as she stood up with my help.

When crossed down the sloping ledge to the plains, going to towards the travel agency. We ran into a number of fiends that were easily taken care of, and soon went inside, looking around at the wares. Dustin went up to the clerk to see about stoking up on our items, while Shane and Cam went over to the weapons to see about newer, stronger ones.

By the time we were ready to leave, Shane had come back with a spiked blitzball. 'To do more damage, ya.' he'd said. Cam had a long black blade in place of the red one he'd had earlier, and Hunter had gotten me, strangely, a new thunderblade. I didn't know they had them here, but something told me there was more to this than met the eye.

It was exactly like my old one, but instead of steel blades on the ends, it was made of a strange material that looked strangely like glass with water trapped inside. It sparkled an electric blue with magic and light as I held it, and I gave him a huge smile as I thanked him. I still kept my old blade, but strapped the new one to my back the opposite way, so they formed an X over my back.

Apparently, it was created after a sword an ancient hero, named Tidus, had used, called the Brotherhood. It didn't contain any magic, but would apparently channel any magics I put in it easier than my other blade.

Leaving the agency, we headed after Cam who seemed to know where to go. We ran into one of those Malboros, and in fighting it, it managed to hit Cam with Bad Breath, and I had to dodge as he rushed at me. "What the hell?!" I cried, as I watched him carefully.

Tori ran over and cast an esuna on him. "He was under confusion." she explained.

With an enlightened face, I realized, under the spell of confusion, one doesn't know what's an ally and what's an enemy.

We finally managed to defeat it, and Dustin ran ovr to grab the remedies it dropped. Apparently you couldn't buy those and they were like the item version of an esuna spell, curing all status problems on a party member. Seeing the Malboro dropp 5 of them, I wouldn't be surprised if Dustin was grinning like a fool when he turned around to rejoin the group.

...See? Told you so.

I only just realized that he and earth's Dustin are a lot like in that sense. They both love unusual things and act like kids when they find some.

Well, we finally got to the exit of the Calm Lands, only to be stopped by two Guado guards that stepped out of the shadows and blocked the bridge we were to cross. "Halt!" one cried as she both raised one hand. "Maester Lothor commands your presence."

_Like hell he does!_ I thought darkly.

Tori seemed to agree with my thinking. "We have nothing further to discuss with Maester Lother." she said defiantly, as she glared at the Guado.

"Yeah! So let us pass!" I yelled at them, grabbing my new thunder blade.

"Lord Lothor's commands _must_ be obeyed!" The second Guado said sternly. "You will come! I warn you, he does not need you alive." After saying that, he called over his shoulder, and a giant machina golem came walking down the slope of the nearby mountain, each step causing the ground to temble violently.

"_Joy_." Tori muttered sarcastically as she moved to stand behind us. She grabbed her staff and began summoning an Aeon.

Watching her, I smirked, remember what they'd revealed to me only recently, but..._How_ do I call them? Tori seemed to pray, so I wondered if maybe...

_**Just focus on us and call our names.**_ Tidus put in helpfully, sounding like he was smirking.

Despite the attitude, I was thankful for his advice. I wasn't really the praying type.

Tori's Ixion came out of the portal, and I smirked. Closing my eyes, I focused on the Aeon I wanted, and with a twirl of my blade, I called out, "Bahamut!"

A chorus of gasps were heard, as the roar of Bahamut echoed through the sky. He plummeted towards the ground, only to turn right side up at the last second and land heavily. I noticed everyone, including Tori, staring at me in shock and shrugged. "Sorry guys. I forgot to mention, I'm a Summoner as well." Looking to Cam, I raised an eyebrow and pointed. "Though _he_ already knew." I finished, knowing the others would get on his case, seeing as how I wasn't from this world.

Shaking her head, Tori looked at me with wide eyes before turning to her Aeon. "Ixion, attack!" she called.

I matched it. "Bahamut, attack!"

Our Aeons attacked together, dealing heavy damage to the machina. Once they moved back, Dustin raced forward to steal some kind of ribbon from the monster and smirked as he ran back. I raised an eyebrow at him and shook my head. _Nice Dustin. It'll look good in your hair._ I thought sarcastically, not believing his excitement overa _ribbon_.

Cam used another one of those attacks, that we'd taken to calling Tornado, and threw one of his new sake jars in the whirlwind, causing another explosion.

When the machina hit the ground, it began to fall apart, first losing it's arms, then it's body fell apart, and lastly, the glow of it's eyes faded, showing it was done for. The Guados stared at me, mumbling about a second Summoner, and ran off, and I winced, realizing they were going to report to Lothor.

"When did you find out you became a Summoner?" Hunter asked as I dismissed Bahamut with a thanks.

Turning to him, I shrugged. "They told me on the airship, during the fight with Evrae." I explained. "Apparently I could do it all along, but didn't know until then, and I didn't want to give it away just yet in case lothor found out."

"So that's why you stopped during the fight." Dustin stated with a nod. "We thought you got paralized or something." Shrugging, he turned in the direction of where the Guado's had run off in and frowned. "Lothor's gonna find out now, you know."

I nodded. "I know, but at least now, Tori's not in his possession, and we're not in Bevelle."

With nods, the group accepted that I was a Summoner, and we headed to the next place, Mt. Gagazet. I noticed Tori stop and look back towards the Calm Lands sadly. I'd often noticed when she'd stop and stare into space, but I think I finally figured out why. She was saying goodbye to all the places she'd never see again. Well, if I had anything to say about it, she wasn't going to die!

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I'm trying to update once daily or once every two days. Sorry about any waits. I am really busy this week, plus I am sick, so it's taking a toll on my writing, but I'm trying to keep it up for everyone.

Hope you like this...Yes...Lothor isn't gone yet. As I said, he's unsent...he'll keep coming around until he is finally sent.

They're getting close to Zanarkand...wonder what they'll find?

Also, I'm not sure if anyone noticed...I went from using a lot of Normal POVS to Blake/Tori's POVS. I find it easier to write in...I think it's first person. Saying a lot of 'I's 'we's and such. It makes it easier for me. I hope that's ok. I'm still trying a lot of third person POVS to give it a bit of variation.

Anyways...R+R please. All comments welcome.

Thank you all for your kind reviews and encouragement. And thank you all for sticking with me.

Tenshi.


	31. Mt Gagazet Battle Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I've been so busy lately. I wouldn't have updated, but I don't want to keep my reviewers waiting. It makes me feel guilty. :(

I'm so tired. I'm going to get a chapter or two up and sleep for a week. LOL.

I'm all better from my cold, thanks to herbal teas. Lemon, ginger and echinaecha. It does wonders and heals me faster than extra strength neo citrines.

Anyways...on with the fic.

Also...erm...I'm thinking about the ending. I really want to do the sequel, but am not sure if I can. I'm going to see about it, but IF I do, I don't know how this'll end. The best way to end it might be the same as the game, but I don't want to end it like that. We'll have to see. I have to be honest though...the chances of me doing a sequel are slim...because the way the game is...if I included Blake, it wouldn't fit with the sequel to the game I am working on now, and I would have to change things very drastically, and it likely won't work.

Again, we'll have to see...

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(Mt. Gagazet)

Talk about cold! I'd heard that Mt. Gagazet was cold, but this was ridiculous! The place was covered in show, and as the wind blew, I shivered as I felt my body going numb. It seemed, the Aeons could feel it too, because Ifrit sent a warmth through my body that allowed me to stay comfortable, once i warmed up.

We climbed through a narrow passageway, and Tori stayed just in front of me. I noticed that she didn't seem to notice the cold, despite the outfit she was wearing, which I knew probably didn't provide much warmth. Unfortunately for the others, they didn't have the same connections as us, so they were obviously freezing. It made me feel bad, and I wanted to do something, but as to what? I was clueless.

Soon, we made it to a wide clearing, with only one other path leading up, a glowing, floating sphere just off to the side. As we entered the place, I began to feel like we were being watched, and didn't like it. I looked around, keeping an eye out for any danger, but didn't see the large blue lion...thing, that jumped down from a ledge above us, until it was standing only a few feet in front of Tori.

"Summoner Tori and Guardians, leave here at once!" the familiar ronso yelled as he openly glared at us, mistrust shining bright in his yellow eyes.

I recognized him right away. It was Maester Kelk Ronso of the Ronso tribe, but what he was doing here... I was confused. I'd thought he'd still be in Bevelle with the other Maesters, but something told me he didn't trust them anymore.

Honestly, I couldn't blame him. I actually pitied him and the rest of our group, Tori included. Though I hadn't really known what to expect, to have Yevon betray it's teachings and followers _certainly_ wasn't it.

All of a sudden, there were several loud thuds, and the ground shook slightly with each one. Turning and looking around, I notied several Ronso surrounding us, all looking royally pissed and glaring at us, seemingly waiting either for us to make one wrong move, or for Kelk to give the order to attack.

"Gagazet is Ronso land, sacred mountain of Yevon." Kelk continued in a venemous voice.

I noticed Shane wince and cower slightly as Dustin almost _dove_ behind Hunter, and raised an eyebrow. Sure, these guys made me nervous, but you didn't see me running away. I guess, maybe, it was because I somehow knew they wouldn't harm us.

"The mountain will not bare the footsteps of infidels!" the Ronso Maester growled angrily as he took a step forward.

Another Ronso stepped forward, snarling menacingly. "Enemy of Yevon is enemy of Ronso! Leave, traitors!"

Shaking her head sadly, Tori took another step forward, looking up at the easily 7 foot tall Ronso in front of her and staring him down. "I have cast aside Yevon! I will follow the temple no more!" she said with clear determination.

"Then you will die by those words!" the angry Ronso Maester snarled menacingly as he glared down at the young Summoner.

_I don't think so!_ I thought as I reached back and held on to my blade, keeping myself ready for battle at any given moment.

"So be it." Tori said softly with a nod, still not looking away from his eyes. "Yevon has warped the teachings and betrayed us all!"

Shane shook his head and sighed. "Nothing but a bunch of low-down tricksters, eh?"

"Yeah!" I cried, glancing around.

Dustin nodded. "Yeah!" he chorused, making me look at him and raise an eyebrow. He gave me a sheepish grin and shrugged slightly from behind Hunter who groaned and stepped forward.

"We have no regrets." Tori finished softly.

I turned my raised eyebrow on her. _I have one._ I thought sadly, thinking about how I feel for her and the fact that I never told her.

"Blasphemers!" a third male Ronso cried.

"A Summoner and her Guardians..." Kelk muttered quietly, looking all of us over.

Hunter took this moment to speak up. "Lord Kelk Ronso, if I may. Have you not also turned your back on Bevelle?"

"But still, you guard Gagazet as a Ronso, not a Maester. Tori is much the same." Cam finished wisely.

"Elder Kelk! Let Biran rend them asunder!" the first anonymous Ronso cried, sounding a little twisted.

"Biran will be silent." Kelk said almost under his breath, looking at the outspoken Ronso.

Dustin snuck over to me and sighed. "Ronso talk in third person. That means, the Ronso that spoke is Biran." he explained under his breath.

_Umm...ok._ I thought as I looked at the Large blue creatures all around us.

"No escape! Not one!" cried the other Ronso.

"Yenke..." Kelk warned, shooting him a glare.

"No." Tori said with a shake of her head. "We will not flee. We will fight, and then continue on."

"You have been branded a traitor, but still you would fight Sin? Lost to the temple, hated by the people, yet you continue your pilgrimage?" Kelk asked in genuine confusion, his eyes no longer holding the malicious intent they did only moments ago.

I relaxed and let go of my blade as I moved to stand beside Tori.

"I fight for Spira." Tori stated solemnly.

Shaking my head, I cut her off. "_We_ fight for Spira."

Looking at me a moment, she nodded and offered a small smile. "Yes. _We_ fight for Spira. The people long for the Calm. I-_We_ can give it to them. It's all we can give. Defeat Sin, ending the pain...this we can do."

"Summoner Tori says 'we'. But Summoner Tori is the only one who can bring the Calm." Kelk said with a shake of his head.

"Not true!" Dustin piped up now.

Hunter shot him a look, but it was too late.

"Explain!" Kelk demanded, looking at all of us.

Sighing, I gave Dustin a look as well, before stepping up in front of the Maester. "There are two Summoners in this party."

Tori nodded quietly. "Yes. That's true."

"Only Summoner Tori was addressed as Summoner. Who is the other?"

"Me." I answered as I looked the massive Ronso in the eyes. "I only found out recently and kept it secret from Yevon."

He looked into my eyes for a few moments, and I felt a little unnerved by the fierce yellow glow of his eyes as he seemed to look into my soul. A moment later and he nodded. "I see." Sighing, he grunted slightly. "Even sacrifing yourselves. Ronso, let them pass!" he shouted as the other Ronso moved out of the way. "Summoner Yuna, and Summoner..." He trailed off as he looked at me.

Realizing that, for the most part, Summoners were addressed by their last names when it came to the Ronso, I shot Tori a look that she returned with a smirk.

"Summoner Blake Bradley." she supplied.

The Ronso all gasped and muttered quietly to themselves. I heard mentions of Lady Victoria and Lord Bradley, and realized that they connected us to them. Many of the Ronso, who up until jut then had been giving us untrusting and disgusted looks, suddenly turned wide yellow eyes on us and seemed to almost be in awe. I noticed that a couple still didn't seem to trust us, but for the most part, but seemed to be siding with us.

Slowly, Kelk nodded and cleared his throat. "Summoner Tori and Summoner Bradley." he said with a nod to each of us, and a small bow. "Your wills are stronger than steel. Tempered steel that even the mightiest Ronso could not hope to bend. Tori, Blake, we bow to your will! Now go! The sacred heights of Gagazet await you!"

"We thank you." Tori said with a nod, and I followed her example, performing a prayor for them as we passed.

Biran took a step forward. "Summoners! We Ronso will stop pursuers from temple."

"Truly?" Tori asked, shocked, but keeping up the act of the Spiran Tori.

Yenke walked up and nodded. "We crush enemies following behind."

"And us Guardians will crush the enemies ahead." Dustin piped up with a smile.

With a nod, Biran smiled at Tori, though it looked quite menacing with all those long, gleaming fangs in his mouth. "Summoners. You are truly lucky."

"Ronso will shine your statue brightest." Yenke agreed with another Ronso smile.

"Thank you. But I fear that no one will make a statue for a traitor such as I am." she said almost sadly.

"Then Ronso will make one!" Biran roared as he punched his chest and puffed up.

"With great horn on head, like Ronso." Yenke agreed, puffing up as well.

That would've been funny to see. The Ronso were strange enough, looking like giant blue loins with horns on their heads, wearing armour, and talkiing.

"That...would be nice." Tori agreed somewhat hesitantly.

I could tell she wasn't sure about it, and really? Neither was I. Tori was perfect the way she was and didn't need a 'horn' on her head, but I guessed, the Ronso were just like that. To be perfectly honest, I would've love to see that statue, but...only if Tori was there to see it with me.

We climbed a little ways up, exiting from a second narrow pathway and entering an open one that was ledges of ice and snow that formed long paths. They had no walls, and steep drop offs on either side, making me worry a bit. They were easily wide enough for us all to walk side-by-side, but for safety, we walked in twos, staying in the center of the path. I took Tori's hand as we walked, holding it tightly, to ensure she couldn't fall no matter what.

The drop offs were so high, we couldn't see the ground below. There was no doubt that if anyone were to fall, they would not survive it, and if anyone took the long way down, there'd likely be nothing left of the body.

"Summoners Tori and Bradley!"

Turning around, we saw several Ronso on the cliffs behind us. "What now?" I groaned as I watched them.

They exchanged a look before Biran and Yenke began singing the same Hymn as was sung on the airship. Strangely, as much as they were _really_ off key, and looked funny with their posturing, it was also soothing and reassuring. After the first verse, the other Ronso all joined in, and soon, their voices carried through the entire mountain, echoing off the Gagazet sides.

After listening to them, we continued on our journey, crossing many narrow paths, and fighting a lot of fiends, including mor stray machina. Dustin showed us he could take them down in one hit, his little secret for dealing with them.

Rather than attack with weapons and chance getting badly hurt, since these guys were really strong, he would run forwards and managed to pull vital components from their bodies, causing them to fall apart in a matter of seconds. He also ended up coming away with grenades and things called Al Bhed potions, which would heal the group and any status problems we might have.

Soon, we made it to a large ledge that was sheltered from the winds, and as the group passed, including Tori, Dustin lagged behind, and so did I, because I knew he wanted to talk to me.

"We need to save her but...Zanarkand is just in the other side, you know?" he asked me, giving me pleading and worried eyes.

Though he concern for her wasn't for the same reason as mine, I understood him all to well. "I know." I muttered sadly.

"Tori's gonna get the Final Aeon, you know?"

"Yeah." I mumbled, giving him a small nod as I sighed. I knew the keys, I just didn't know how to use them. It's like...the way to bea Sin forever was locked away, and with all the keys I have, I can't seem to find the one to unlock it. I felt so helpless!

"I still haven't thought of anything."

That surprised me. I forget he was even looking with me. "I know that..." I hesitated a moment before sighing. "The keys...they lie in the Aeons. I think...our morphers and the Aeons are the keys but...I don't know how or why."

"Well...What're we gonna do?"

"We'll do something!" I stated firmly with a shake of my head and a frown. "We just don't know enough yet. Until he do, we really can't help Tori. Let's go to Zanarkand. We'll find something there, I know it!" And part of me _did_ know it. Somehow, I just knew that the answers lie there. "It'll all come together! I know it will!" I insisted.

"Hey!" Dustin said, a small smirk coming to his face. "You know, you sounded just like a leader just then."

"Navy Ranger! Didn't anyone tell you?" I put in cockily, giving him a small chuckle as I moved past him.

All of a sudden, there was a choked gasp, and I turned to find Dustin staring at Lothor in shock. with a glare, I walked forward and grabbed my thunder blade. _Doesn't this guy ever give up?_

"Navy Ranger?" he asked with an evil grin. "Hmmm...That doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard of before, but I sense you are powerful."

"Dustin! Go get Cam!" I cried as I took a step in front of him.

"You're _not_ gonna fight him alone!" he cried.

Shaking my head, I readied myself for attack. "Go! Go now!" I insisted loudly.

With a groan, he took off and left me to face the man I hated more than anything else in this world.

"Now is your time to die. Prepare yourself, _Summoner_ Blake." he said with a smug smile.

I felt my eyes widen. Remembering back to when the Guado ran off, I knew he'd find out. I just didn't expect it to be so soon. Growling, I shook my head and frowned. "Not if I can help it!" I shot back.

"Save some for us!" Hunter called out as the group approached. We stood side by side and stared the evil Maester down as we prepared for battle. Tori took a single step forward and began to send, only to have Lothor stop her.

"A sending so soon? Allow me to say something before you do. I know that Blake is a Summoner as well, and I also know that you both have hidden powers. I know not what they are, but they will not stop me, just as the Ronso were not able to stop me." He saw the confused and concerned looks that must've crossed our faces and chuckled evilly. "Ahh yes. They were...truly a galant race. They threw themselves in my way, trying to bar my path to you, one after the other."

"No..." Hunter said in denial, his eyes beginning to glow orange with the beginnings of a firaga spell.

"You should allow me to end the suffering of your Guardians, Lady Tori." he said with a smirk. "Allow them to die."

"I don't get you!" she cried angrily.

"Release them from their pain." he explained with a shrug. "Spira is...a land of suffering and sorrow, caught in a spiral of death. To destroy...to _heal_ Spira, I will become the new Sin. Yes, with your help. Come with me, Tori. Or perhaps you Blake." he said, shifting his evil glance between the woman I loved, and me.

"What do you know!" I cried angrily.

"Pitiful mortal." he said with a shake of his head as he transformed into his monstrous form and floated into the air. A large round machina with a seat and metallic arms floated up from the chasm behind him. "Your hope ends here..." he merged with the machina, becoming a terrifying monster with a giant spear in one hand and swords that crossed across it's back. "And your meaningless existence with it!" he cried, his voice ringing metallic and almost hollow.

We ran into the battle, and I charged him with my new fire spell, charging my blade with it and hitting him hard. As I jumped back, Hunter cast a powerful firaga at the smaller machina that appeared and floated beside him as Shane threw his new, spiked blitzball at him. Cam used the Tornado attack as Dustin threw a grenade, and Tori cast protect and haste on all of us.

Lothor raised the spear and hit Shane with it, making his skin turn slightly greenish and his eyes took a hollow look in them. He counter attacked with his ball, but fel to one knee after, panting.

I frowned as I took in his status, and reached into my pouch to grab a hi-potion, only to have Hunter grab my hand and shake his head.

"Zombie." he said simply. "Potions will hurt him. Remedies or esuna are the only things that can help right now."

Nodding, I returned the potion to my pouch and grabbed a remedy, using it to heal Shane.

Apparently, Lothor hadn't caught on that his opponent had been cured, because he used a curaga spell next, healing shane up of any injuries. When he saw what he did, he let out an angry yell and attacked me with the spear, but I was able to dodge it, countering with my blade.

Tori drew back and summoned Valefor.

Realizing what she did, I followed her lead, Summoning Ifrit.

We sent our Aeons to attack together as Tori healed up Cam who'd taken a nasty hit, and I charged my blade with my thunder powers before charging at him.

All of a sudden, Lothor reared back several feet and pulled the two swords out with two of the four metallic hands, crossing them in front of him, and rushing at us, dealing a powerful blow.

"Oh man!" I groaned as I knelt and held my side. "Damn! Did anyone get the number of the zord that hit me?"

Tori let out a pained cry and fell to her knees, immediately holding up her staff, but Dustin stopped her. He pulled out one of those Al Bhed potions, that looked like orange and yellow vials, and used one, bringing us all back to our feet.

"Thanks Dustin." Tori said gratefully as she ordered her weakened Valefor to attack with Energy Ray. Once her Aeon's special attack was done, I performed Ifrit's, Hellfire.

Ifrit reared back, shooting a large fireball from his mouth. As it hit Lothor, he jumped in the air and banged his closed fists together, forming fireballs in each one and throwing them as well, causing a powerful explosion, but he wasn't done next. When he landed, he heaved a huge boulder into the mix, causing the explosion to magnify and the boulder to shatter into pieces.

When he was done, Lothor was barely able to keep floating, and one more combination of Hunter's firaga, and Dustin's grenades, brought him down, making him explode into a ball of pyreflies and fade away.

"And stay up there!" I cried as I panted, sheathing my blade and turning back to the group.

Tori made the usual rounds of healing everyone as we dismissed our Aeons, and we continued on our way.

"Why'd...Why'd this all have to happen, ya?" Shane muttered dejectedly as we walked.

Cam sighed. "You'll find out soon. We'll be there before night fall."

Soon, we found a large...ruin, of some kind. There was no real way to explain it. It looked like it used to be a small town or something, with carvings of Fayths on the walls and a large pillar of water, floating up into the sky and disapearing. Actually, the water almost seemed to have pyreflies floating in it, and when I looked really close, I could swear I saw people's faces in there. It was strangely...beautiful, but also, haunting.

"Wh-what are those?" Shane whispered in fear and awe.

Tori looked around with wide eyes. "Those are Fayth. A Summoning! Someone is using these Fayth! Someone is drawing energy from all of them!" she stated firmly, shaking her head and looking a little frightened.

"This many?" Dustin asked incredulously.

"How wields power on this scale, and what could they be calling?" Hunter asked quietly as he took in the scene.

Dustin turned to look at Cam who didn't seem the slightest bit impressed and ran over to him, as I walked over and stood next to the murals of the Fayths, looking at the many thousands of faces.

"You know something, don't you? Spill it!" he demanded.

I turned to look at him as he shook his head. "Look not to others for knowledge. This is your journey as well."

_Look not to others for knowledge._

Somehow, that made a strange kind of sense. I was looking to everyone else for answers instead of finding the answers myself. Turning back to the wall, I nodded. "He's right." I said to the others as I reached out and touched the mural.

Suddenly, everything went black.

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Hmmm...perfect place for a chapter break.

I hope you like this so far.

Thank you all for your encouragement.

R+R please.

Tenshi


	32. Mt Gagazet Dream Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I struggled with what to call this chapter. I was thinking 'Revelations' but there's a lot of that coming up yet...

Next chapter will probably be really short, but this was getting long enough.

I'm getting close to the ending, but I'm a little confused as to what to do. I have ideas for a happy ending, which I would love, but then, I might have trouble IF I decide to start a sequel. If I give this a sad ending, I won't like it, but I'll be able to start the sequel better. Personally, I think of this as a Lose/Lose situation.

Ideas and comments are welcome.

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**Dream**

When I finally came to, I was back in Ninja Ops!

Looking around in confusion, I noticed I was the only one there, and frowned. How had I gotten there? I was just with the others in Spira.

There was a brilliant flash, and I turned to see a red headed man with long yellow shorts and a yellow muscle shirt. His hair was spiked and he had deep brown eyes. "Welcome home." he said with a grin.

"You..." I vaguely remembered him and frowned as I noticed the pyreflies that swam around his transparent body.

"Remember me? We met in Bevelle." he said with a nod.

"Yeah." I remembered. He was the Fayth that Tori was praying to in the temple. The Fayth of Bahamut, Wakka.

"But...though that was the first time we met, I've known about you for a long, long time."

Strangely... "I feel like I should know you too." Looking around, I frowned. This looked like my home, but I knew it couldn't be possible. "Where are we?"

"Silly, don't you recognize your home?"

Frowning, I turned to find him grinning and glared at him, daring him to keep patronizing me.

I noticed two figures appear in the room and noticed Dustin and Shane standing near me, but they were Spira's Dustin and Shane.

"What's gotten into you? Hey!" Shane called desperately.

Frowning, I wondered what he meant. I was fine. Though... I _did_ find it weird he wasn't freaking out about being in a completely different place from where he was.

Dustin shook his head. "Wake up!" he cried. "Wake up!"

That's when I realized, I was still back in Spira with the others, likely still on the mountain of Gagazet. Turning to Bahamut's Fayth, Wakka, I noticed him giving me a knowing look, a smirk plastered on his face. "Wait...This is a dream." I muttered.

He nodded, the smirk never leaving his face. "Exactly."

"A dream?" We didn't have time for these ridiculous games! "Are you crazy? I don't have time to be dreaming now!" I cried angrily.

Sighing, Wakka shook his head. "But...it's _us_ who're dreaming. We need your help."

With that, he walked up the stairs and our of Ops. Thinking about what he said, I frowned and chased after him. I found myself just outside Zanarkand, the lively city it used to be. "Wait a sec!" Looking back the way I came, I noticed the entrance to Ops was gone, and instead, we were on a large house boat. I followed him on to the upper deck where he looked out over the vast lake, looking at the city lights on the other side.

"Long time ago, there was a war." he said absently.

I nodded, remembering hearing about it, as well as the many theories that surrounded it. "Yeah, with machina, right?"

He nodded, his back still to me. 'Yes. A war with Zanarkand and Bevelle."

Bevelle. Why wasn't I surprised? They seemed to like to cause a lot of trouble, in any way they could.

"Bevelle's machina assured their victory from the start. Spira had never seen such power. The Summoners of Zanarkand didn't stand a chance. Zanarkand was doomed to oblivion. That's why we tried to save it...if only in a memory."

I frowned as I heard that. "What did you do?"

"The remaining Summoners and townspeople that survived the war...They all became Fayth...Fayth for the Summoning."

Not understaning, my mind went immediately to Sin. It would obviously take a lot of power to Summon something like that, and it made me wonder... "The Summoning...you mean Sin?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "No. I mean this place. A Zanarkand that never sleeps."

I shivered as a chill ran up my spin. So in other words, this Zanarkand was a city of the dead? A place where thousands of ghosts lived happily, as though they were still alive?

"The dreams of the Fayth Summoned the memories of this city. They summoned all the buildings, all the people who lived there."

"The people..." Looking out into the lively city, I frowned. "So they're all dreams?" Then...they all died. That means, they're all unsent.

"Yes. Everyone here is a dream of the Fayth. If they Fayth stopped dreaming..."

Suddenly, the city began to vanish. Some buildings disappeared, then more, then the streets and cheers, the blitzball stadium.

Soon, only this house boat and us remained, surrounded by darkness.

"We've been dreaming for so long." Wakka said wearily as he sighed. He turned and gave me a sad look. "We're tired. Would you and Tori...would you let us rest? You have both been given the chance and power."

"What're you saying?"

With a slight sigh, Wakka looked into my eyes. "You two...are the only ones who can do it. Stop Sin and let us rest."

Suddenly, Tori's image appeared next to me, her face pale and filled with worry, and her eyes filled with tears. "Wake up, Blake! Wake up, please! Please..." she wimpered.

"Just a little more and maybe...maybe you two are the ones who will end our dreaming at last." Wakka said as the rest of the dream world faded away. I closed my eyes as pure darkness surrounded me, and felt a cool breeze against my face.

**End Dream**

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on my back, back on Mt. Gagazet, with my worried friends leaning over me. As I sat up, I remembered what Wakka had said to me, but it didn't make much sense. If Tori was a part of this too, then why wasn't she part of the vision?

_**Because...give her too much time to think about what has to be done, and she will become obssessed with finding another way, or she might not be concentrating on a difficult battle and could end up killed.**_

Shuddering at the thought, I frowned. _Ok, I understand that, but...did __ I __ really need to know?_

The only answer I got was a slight chuckle, and then nothing more.

Ok, so I didn't really _know_ what I had to do, but I knew it revolved solely around the Aeons. Something to do with the fact that they were 'dreaming' and this was somehow connected to Sin.

"Are you all right?" Tori asked, kneeling at my side.

I looked into her eyes and chickened out. I wanted to tell her the truth, but one look into her soft, worry filled eyes, and I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth and bring her even _more_ worry!

Dustin knelt down too and lightly punched my arm. "Hey! We were worried about you!" he cried, a look of worry in his bright green eyes.

"You ok?" Hunter asked softly, a mild look of relief in his eyes, but also remaining hints of worry.

"I..." I hesitated to tell them anything, but knew that sooner or later, I'd have to. For now though, I decided to keep it to myself, as much as i hated the idea of lying to Tori. "I'm fine."

"What happened?" Tori asked as we all slowly stood up. "One minute you were agreeing with something Cam said, and the next..." she made a gesture to the wall with her hands. "You were out cold, lying on your back."

"Nothing happened." I muttered with a slight shrug. "I think..." Thinking fast, I tried to come up with a story. "I thin that last battle just exhausted me." Stretching a bit, I gave them all a sheepish smile. "But I'm good now."

I could see that they wanted to keep questioning me, but shook my head and went a bit further down the path that led into a cave. When I turned around, I noticed them following me, eyeing me in confusion and worry, but as much as I wanted to insist I was fine, if I took the time, they'd bombard me with questions I didn't have the answers to.

(Normal POV)

When the group entered the caves, they climbed a set of man-made steps, looking around at the muli-colored crystals that glowed eerily along the cavern, giving off enough light for them to see clearly. It confused some of them, how man-made steps could exist in a cavern that only held one Ronso guard, but they decided not to question it as they made their way along a path.

Soon enough, they went down a side tunnel, and were faced with a submerged section of the cave. It was obvious that whatever trials lay in this cave, waited on the other side. but some of the group would have to wait back here, as they could not fight under the water.

"Looks like we got a job to do, ya?" Shane questioned, grabbing his blitzball and stepping up.

"If anything should happen in the water, we're relying on you three." Hunter stated as Dustin and Blake walked over to Shane. "If it gets dangerous, pull out quick."

"Right." Shane agreed.

Tori also stepped forward, and everyone turned to look at her. "I wanna go to." he said as she looked at Blake.

He shook his head. "Your powers need to remain secret. Who knows if Lothor's goons are watching?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and sighed, slumping a bit as she hesitantly nodded. "Be careful then." she almost whispered.

Blake walked over and hugged her tightly, before joining Shane and Dustin and walking down the steps that led into the water. Once he was ready, he lifted his morpher to his face. "Thunder Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" he cried, morphing into the familiar and comfortable Navy suit.

They swam under a low opening and went down a split path, taking the one on the left. They soon found another set of steps leading out of the water, and climbed out, finding a spinning cage that surounded a large glowing orb.

"This one's mine, ya!" Shane called cockily as he crouched low and brought his blitzball to his side. As the opening on the cage approached, he threw the ball, and Blake was about to protest, thinking he'd thrown it too soon, when it slipped past the opening and hit the core, causing the cage to stop spinning and the light in the orb to fade.

His blitzball was shot back at him and he jumped in the air, catching it and flipping before he landed and turned to raise and eyebrow and lookat the others with a smirk.

Dustin shook his head ans muttered about show offs before going back into the water, and with a raised eyebrow back at Shane, though he couldn't see it, Blake followed him.

They made their way up to the split in the cavern, and took the path to the right this time, soon finding three colored lights of different sizes. Surfacing, they looked at each other and Dustin sighed.

"They're buttons, but we press them all at the same time." he said with a shrug. "We have to chose the opening that we can fit into and all go for it at the same time."

Looking back to the colored openings, Blake thought for a moment before nodding. "The yellow one's the biggest. Shane you go for that. The green one's the smallest, so Dustin, you go for that. I'll go for the..." Hesitating, he looked at the third opening and raised an eyebrow. "I'll go for the blue one." he muttered.

They agreed and dove back under, each going for the buttons at the same time. There was a dull, hollow click that made the water tremble a bit, and then nothing. With sighs, they made their way back to the others, to find them in the midst of beating a giant Flan that looked to shine a blue-black and seemed to have a white mist surrounding it.

As it faded away, they climbed out of the water and rejoined the others.

"They'll be upon us soon." Cam stated as the group began climbing some lose rocks that had recently fallen over a large gap in the floor. "She has sent fiends to test our Summoners' strengths."

Tumbling a bit as he slipped over a lose rock, Blake took Tori's hand to help her across. She looked at the eldest Guardian with a look of confusion etched across her face. "Who's 'she'?"

"Victoria." he answered simply as he finally made it to the other side, where a glowing blue sphere floated, and wating for them on the now sturdy path.

Gasping a bit, Tori stumbled, but Blake held her tightly and together, they made their way to the other side of the crumbling passage. "Lady Victoria?" she breathed in awe.

"In Zanarkand, she awaits the strongest." he answered with a shrug.

"She...is still alove?" she asked in shock.

Blake didn't see how that was possible. If this lady defeated Sin 1000 years ago, then how could it be possible she was still alive now?

"As much as Mika and Lothor." he said with a sneer.

So in other words, she was an unsent.

"I see." Tori said almost sadly.

Cam seemed to smirk. "Lost your nerve?"

"No." she answered with a shake of her head. "Nothing frightens me now." she mumbled quietly.

"Braska would be proud." he said with a nod and warm smile.

"Then...I must not let him down." she returned, staring firmly at the exit of the cave as Dustin was the last one to cross the crumbled pathway, going immediately to the sphere to heal his cuts and bruises from falling a lot.

As they exited the cave, Cam immediately drew his sword and took up a fighting stance. "It comes!" he shouted, and the others immediately prepared themselves for battle.

The fiend was...undescribable. It broke out of the side of the mountain, walking on all fours, with a massive jaw, piercing, bloody madibles on each side, glowing red eyes, and large horns spiking out of it's back, with dragon-like wings. It was a massive fiend in general, but they took it on, not fearing it for a moment.

"It's weak against fire!" Hunter called, casting a firaga spell on it.

Nodding, Blake also cast a fire spell, throwing the ball of navy flame at the creature. Tori took her hcnace and called Ifrit who immediately began attacking with fire spells, and Dustin pulled out glowing red gems that he tossed at the fiend, causing large explosions of fire.

Cam charged at the monster, managing to cut off a horn and damage a wing, and Shane used his spiked blitzball to hit it in the eye, blinding it somewhat and making it easier to fight.

Tori ran over to the rest of the group, casting hasteaga on them, speeding them all up at once.

The monster charged at them, causing them all to jump to the sides to avoid getting hit, and Dustin took a moment to mix together a grenade and a fire gem, tossing it at the monster, and a split second later, Hunter and Blake followed up with fire spells.

It didn't take long before the monster fell, and Dustin groaned as he leaned against the solid wall of the mountain.

Cam began to walk down the path, but stopped when he heard Dustin's voice.

"Can't we stop for a moment?"

"No need. We reach the summit soon." he responded, but he turned and waited for the others to catch up.

Nodding, Dustin looked at him and took a couple of steps in his direction. "I know." he mumbled quietly, a sad look covering his face. "That's why I wanna stop for a bit. Soon means that...there's not much time left.

Tori sighed and walked over to Dustin. "Dustin..." she said softly, tears glimmering in her eyes.

"Fine." he said a little angrily as he stomped off towards Cam. "I'll think on the way."

Blake couldn't blame him for being mad. Finding out just how close they were to Zanarkand, he began to feel sick and terrified. His heart fluttered and skipped beats, and his whole body began to shake a little as tears came to his eyes, but with a determined breath, he nodded and followed them, refusing to look at Tori. It wasn't that he was mad at her, but he was afraid...araid that, if he looked at her, he'd lose it.

Trailing behind the group, Blake noticed cam fall back a little, and Shane a long with him. The ex-blitzer stopped and waited for him to catch up before giving him a nervous smile.

"Hey, come on. Let's go." he said quietly.

With a heavy sigh, Blake nodded, but didn't increase his pace. "We're...almost there, aren't we?" he asked as he swallowed to moisten his suddenly dry throat.

"We've come a long way." Shane agreed solemnly.

Cam dropped back to walk with them and chuckled.

Shooting him a mild glare, Blake snorted. "What's so funny?" he demanded, thinking that not really _wasn't_ the time to be laughing.

"You remind me a lot of myself." he answered easily, a slight frown marring his face. "Before, the closer to Zanarkand we came, the more I wondered...when he arrive, Braska will call the Final Aeon...He will fight Sin, then die. I thought my mind was made up long before, but when I stood there, my resolve wavered." There was a hint of regret and pain in his voice that made Blake wince.

"Huh. Never would've figured." Shane said with a puzzled look crossing his face. "Legendary Guardians choke sometimes, too, ya?"

Cam snorted and shook his head. "Legendary Guardian? I was just a boy. A boy about your age, actually. I wanted to change the world too, but I changed nothing. That is my story."

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OH MY GOSH! They're getting close to Zanarkand...and what's this about Lady Victoria?? Oh my...this'll be fun.

Well, I hope you like it.

R+R please.

Thanks to everyone for reviewing and encouraging me to continue.

Tenshi.


	33. My Gagazet Memories and Goodyes Part 3

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : There goes another box of tissues. Wow, talk about a tear jerker. I cried writing this...I know, sad, huh?

This is NOT the end of the fic! I'm not writing the ending until I decide about the sequel and exactly _how_ to end it.

I tried to make it so this fic wouldn't be so short. Hope I did ok.

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(Blake's POV)

As we reached the top of the summit, we looked down over the ruined city of Zanarkand below. I already knew what to expect, kinf of, but this still surprised me. The way the setting sun glowed orange in the sky, and bathed the long dead city in vibrant colors, was almost...beautiful.

The Zanarkand I'd seen on earth, was half submerged, so seeing the whole thing, I was surprised at just how _massive_ it was. Easily, it could be called a metropolis, housing probably thousands of people. To be honest, it made Blue Bay Harbour look like a village, a tiny little insignificant village.

A city dead for a thousand years. A city I, sadly, had to see with my own eyes. The end of Tori's pilgrimage if I didn't be careful and do something soon, and possibly, the end of my journey as well. My thoughts kept floating up, then disappearing before I could pin them down with words. It was terrifying and frustrating all in one, and I wanted to scream, but held back, understanding the quiet, somber nature of this place.

Images came to mind of our entire journey, from when I first came to Spira, meeting Dustin and finding out my Tori was the Summoner, to her almost marrying Lothor, to our first kiss in Macalania, to now. They floated through my mind, blurring my vision with tears that built up from fear and frustration.

_I have done it. I have...become a Summoner._

Tears threatened to spill out. If I'd known what that simple statement entitled, I would've dragged her back into the chamber of the Fayth and demanded they chose someone else!

_Tori chose her own path. She knew from the beginning what it meant. All we can do is protect her along the way. Until the end._

But how could we protect her from this?! I thought it was so simple...protect Tori from fiends, but just how were we supposed to protect her from dying?

_Your Guardians won't be able to protect you when the time comes._

It took so long to understand what Kimberly meant when she said that. It also took a long time before I thought back and noted the concern and sympathy in her eyes when she said it. Maybe, in her own way, she was trying to discourage Tori from continuing, to save her from this?

_Tori could...but then she...Tori will die, you know?!_

Finding that out had to be the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. Just hearing that simple statement made that day the hardest of my life. It felt like Dustin had plunged his hand through my chest and ripped my heart out! How I continued on? I have no idea.

_Don't worry. I can fly. Believe._

When she'd leapt from that ledge, I was about to leap after her, but Cam held me back and Dustin threw down one of his flash bombs, blinding the enemy for a bit and allowing us to escape, though Cam had to practically drag me out of there. When she'd leapt off the edge, I was sure I'd died. I didn't see any way she could've survived and felt sick to my stomach. Then I found out she was alive, only to die here?

_Stay with me until the end, please?_

_Not until the end...always._

I meant those words. No matter what happened, I would always be with her, be by her side, but it didn't mean I was about to sit back and let her die.

Then, there were also the images of what we'd have to do. I knew, at least...I _think_ I knew, what we had to do to beat Sin forever, but we still had to find this Lady Victoria and get answers from her. Would she help us?

The fact that she was unsent, made me doubt she would. Chances were, she'd be just like Mika and Lothor, going on about the 'Spiral of Death' and how Sin as needed and such other bull as that. It kind of pissed me off, how the entire planet was made to believe lies, fearing Sin because they didn't know any better.

"Tori, I say no!" Dustin cried, breaking off my thoughts and making me turn to see him gripping her arms tightly, giving her a pleading look. "If you go down there, then you'll..." he trailed off and pulled away from her, wiping away angry tears that poured down his face.

I was with him the whole way, fighting off the urge to throw Tori over my shoulder and run as far from Zanarkand as I could.

"Dustin. You are...a true friend." she said sadly as a smile graced her beautiful face. "And I thank for you that, but...I must go...down, to Zanarkand." she said hesitantly, frowning slightly as she turned away.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't go." he said with a shake of his head, frowning and looking at the ground. "But shouldn't we think about it some more? There's gotta be some kind of way we can save you, Tori!" he cried.

_There is_ I thought sadly as I watched the interaction. As much as I wanted to shout that there was, and explain it, I found myself unable to speak. Part of me knew, it wasn't yet time, but I hated it. I hated watching the helplessness on their faces, the sorrow and pain. I hated _feeling_ so damned helpless!

"All my life, I knew this moment would come..." she said softly, looking out over the glowing ruins with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Dustin sighed and took a single step forward. "Tori..." he muttered in a defeated tone.

Tori spun around and hugged him tightly, dropping a sphere in the process, but not noticing it. Nodoby noticed it, but me. I bent down and picked it up, hiding it in my jean jacket and waiting for the right time to watch it. It might've seemed wrong to keep it secretly and watch it behind her back, but it gave me a bad feeling and reminded me of the sphere of Jyscal.

"Thank you Dustin...for everything." Tori said in a whisper as she slowly pulled away from her cousin.

Shaking his head, Dustin cried as he held onto her hands. "Don't say that Tori! It's not over yet!" he cried.

"Tell Cid thank you." she said slightly, as both Dustin and I shook our heads.

"You can tell him yourself." he said stubbornly.

Sighing, Tori threw him a pleading look. "Please...!"

"Tori, don't say that because...because we're gonna see each other again, okay?"

I wanted to say something, make Tori stop and think, but I still couldn't find the words.

Turning away from her cousin, Tori looked at the others. "Let's go." she said firmly, beginning the trek down the path that led to Zanarkand. Everyone but me followed behind, and as soon as they were all out of sight, I pulled out the sphere, and turned it on.

**Tori's Sphere**

From the background, I could tell it was taken on the Mi'ihen Highroad at sunset. _So this is what she was doing._ I thought as I remembered how she scrambled to hide it when I came up to her.

It showed Tori smiling sadly into the sphere, and for a moment, I wanted to freeze the image, almost being afraid to hear what was coming.

"_Sir Cam...I was told, that when my father wanted me taken from Bevelle to Besaid, you were the one to do so. I had always wanted to meet you someday. I am glad, truly glad, to have had the chance. Having you as a Guardian was a great honour that I don't know how to thank you for._" she sighed and turned serious. "_Perhaps, if I defeat Sin, that will be my thanks. Yes, I will challenge Sin. I will defeat Sin._"

It reminded me of the day just off of Kilika, when she vowed to beat Sin.

_I will defeat Sin. I __must__ defeat Sin!_

"_If you are all there, watching this, then...I guess, Sin is already gone...and so am I, I suppose. Anyway, I just wanted to say...Sir Cam, I thank you._"

Frowning, I watched as the image of Tori wavered a moment and she wiped away tears before sighing and continuing.

"_Shane, Hunter, I'll never forget my days growing up with you. We always played together, us and Porter. That's why I was always so happy, I think. And when you refused to let me become a Summoner and I did it anyway...I'm sorry._"

I felt a tear slip down my face as I remembered yeeling at Hunter and Shane, accusing them of not stopping her. Here, was undeniable proof that they did in fact try to stop her, but she went behind their back and did it anyways. It made me smile sadly, realizing that, that was my Tori in there. Stubborn until the end.

Shaking my head, I glared at the sphere and clutched it even tighter as she kept talking.

"_I've always wanted to apologize. You know, when you tried to stop me then, I was really happy. I could tell you really cared about me."_

I gave a broken sob and felt more tears falling as my heart gave a pained wrench and skipped a beat. _What about me?_ I questioned softly. "I care about you too. I love you so much it hurts, and I can't lose you." I muttered as I took a deep, shakey breath.

"_You were like my big brothers. No...I think you really _were_ my big brothers! What else? ...I love watching you play blitzball, Shane. I even love it when you scold me, Hunter._" she gave a small laugh and shook her head, her eyes lighting up for the first time since I turned on the sphere. _"Really!_"

Laughing softly, I had to shake my head. It would be just like her to admit to something like that, but it made sense. I took several deep breaths and tried to calm myself, not wanting to look like a mess when I rejoined the others. I don't think I could've handled anymore questions at the moment.

"_I guess that leaves...the newest Guardian. Navy Thunder Ranger of earth!_"

My breath caught as she began to address me through the sphere.

"_You are...I am...Well, umm...I'm glad...I'm glad that you came and were here with me."_ she said akwardly, tears starting to pour from her eyes as she looked sadly into the sphere. "_Somehow, you must've known I needed you."_ She sighed and took a deep breath, wiping away her tears again as her face once again wavered. "_I guess...this is what it feels like."_

Frowning, I nodded to myself as I felt my body shaking. _What, what felt like? _I wondered silently. Just what was she talking about?

"_It's a much mroe wonderful feeling than anything I had ever imagined. Wonderful, but it...it hurts, sometimes._"

I think I understood what she was trying to say, and agreed with her. It _was_ wonderful, but at times like these, it hurt so bad!

"_I wonder. I...Ijust want to say, thank you for everything. Maybe...maybe that's why it hurts. When I..."_ She cried more and shook her head, a deep frown marring her face as she looked out over the sunset. I could see the deep pain in her eyes, and knew that, at that moment, it was likely reflected in mine. "_When I think about us never being together again at all...I'm afraid."_

I felt my eyes widen. I understood all too well what she was saying and felt the same. I felt like such a fool! "God, Tori!" I muttered as I wiped away my own tears, feeling my heart break even more.

"_No...I shouldn't say that." _She seemed to think for a moment and sighed. "_Maybe, I'll just do that part over. It's not like he..."_

"_What'cha up to?_ came my voice, and suddenly the sphere cut off.

**End of Tori's Sphere**

Shaking, I held the sphere for a moment, looking at it as my tears slipped from my face and onto the warm blue surface. With a deep sigh, I put it in my pocket and began down the trail, wiping my tears once more and forcing myself to stay level headed. I wouldn't be able to save Tori if I couldn't think straight, and I _planned_ to save Tori!

Joining up with the others at the bottom of the mountain, I avoided their questions as we built a camp and relaxed. Getting up, I moved away from the campfire, and over to a small ridge, climbing on top of it, and staring out over the ruins of Zanarkand just head, looking to the small river that surrounded the ancient city, as well as the pyreflies that floated all over the place.

This was it. Zanarkand, the city of the dead. Just what waited for us here?

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Wow...so what did you think? Should I run for cover?

Double Wow...I'm on chapter 33...my longest fic yet, and I still have more to go! Not sure exactly how _much_, but still more.

Hope you like this.

R+R please.

Thank you all.

Tenshi


	34. Zanarkand Revelations Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Hmmm...thing should be getting more interesting.

Oh, I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but I'm all better now. I've been so busy this week, but made sure to make time for this fic for all of you. :) I'm so glad you like this fic, it makes me happy to know you do. :)

The whole 'Lord Merrick' thing was just because I wanted to include another Ranger. LOL.

If you noticed, most of the former Rangers are people who've made more than one appearance...most of them. Many of the ones I left alone are what I see as villains or those who, for the most part, only made one appearance.

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(Zanarkand)

Sitting around the campfire, our group relaxed and took in the temporary peace. I never wanted this to end, never wanted to go back into the dead city of Zanarkand. I knew that maybe, my choice would end up trapping Tor and I here, but if it meant possibly saving her life, then so be it. This place looked like a nice place to live, once you get past the unending army of fiends, the undead that liked to mess things up, the strict rules of a lying religion, and the Random attacks of Sin.

I knew I was being selfish, but dammit! I didn't want Tori to die!

As it was, I was struggling to remain cheerful and not let on what was really bothering me. If anyone could read my mind, they'd find that I was utterly terrified, but thankfully, I was able to mask my terror and be there for my friends...for Tori.

"Hey! There was more, right?" I asked, reminicing with the others. "I mean, like that time...uhhh..." I paused, noting how the others seemed to becoming agitated. "Anyone?"

Tori sighed. "I think..."

I turned to her, hoping she'd continue the story telling, but from the look in her eyes, the time had come. "Yes?" I asked warily, playing along.

"I think we should stop...maybe. For now." she seemed unsure. "Let's go."

Hesitantly, we walked along the crumbling path that led to Zanarkand's temple. We ran into humungous fiends, Flans, Behemoths King Malboros and more. The Malboros were a pain, but with a few of Cam's Tornado attacks and Tori's and my Aeons, we were able to bring them down easily. It helped that they were weak against fire.

Soon enough, Cam pulled to a stop just outside of a large building that looked like a super-sized temple.

Dusti nwas watching the pyreflies floating around the ditches on either side of the road, filled with water from rains. "It's just like the Farplane." he muttered as he trembled a bit.

Cam nodded. "It's not that different."

As we approached the entrance, a man appeared out of nowhere and walked up to us, a gentle smile on his face. "Journeyer of the long road. Name yourself." he said in a quiet voice, looking at Tori, before his gaze became confused and he looked at me. "Hmmm...two Summoners. Unusual. Name _yourselves."_ he corrected.

I sighed and walked forward. "Summoner Blake Bradley." I stated, noticing how his eyes went wide and he gaped at me.

Tori followed my lead. "Summoner Tori. From the Isle of Besaid. Blake is from Besaid as well." she put in , sending me a raised eyebrow.

Raising my eyebrow right back, I folded my arms over my chest. How was I supposed to know ghosts wanted to know where we came from? It's not like I'd undergone the same training as all other Summoners.

"Your eyes, dear Summoners. Show me the long road you have travelled." he stated as he walked forward and gazed into Tori's eyes, nodding after a moment and moving to me. He gazed into my eyes as well and a smile formed as he raised an eyebrow, but he nodded to me as well, stepping back. "Very good. You have journeyed well. Lady Victoria will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and bring your Guardians with you."

Walking past the group, he walked out of the entrance and faded away into nothing, one last word riding the still air.

"Go."

We went inside, and I noticed the dark, damp and cold atmosphere of the building. Crumbled paths littered the way to our destination, but for a moment, I was stuck, staring at the pyreflies that floated around as the others moved in as well.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and transparent people stood in front of us. It looks like a Summoner and his Guardians have appeared. The Summoner had short black hair with white streaks in the front, framing his youthful face. He had bright blue eyes and a well maintained goatee.

One of the female Guardians turned to look at her Summoner as others shot at invisible enemies. "If it might benefit the future of Spira, I will gladly give my life. It is the highest honour for which a Guardian might ask. Use my life, Lord Merrick, and rid Spira of Sin."

The images faded away and left us staring in shock. The others' shock was likely from seeing images of a dead Summoner, but for Tori and me, it was because we knew him. Well, knew _of_ him. That was Merrick Baliton, the Lunar Wolf Ranger of the Wild Force Rangers.

Tori gasped and her eyes widened. I knew why she was shocked, but also knew she wouldn't get into it here.

Dustin also looked on with wide eyes. "What...was that?" he cried in terror.

"Our predecessors." Cam answered easily, being the only one who didn't seem spooked.

"She said 'Lord Merrick'." Tori whispered. "Didn't she?"

"Wait!" Hunter cried, looking around wildly. "She guarded Lord Merrick?"

My guess was that Merrick must've been yet another High Summoner. Like all the others before him, he fought Sin, sacrificing his life so that Spira had 10 years of peace. I bet, that if he'd known Sin was only going to come back, that he would've found another way.

"This dome is filled with pyreflies. It's like a gigantic sphere. People's thoughts remain here, forever." Cam filled them in as he began down the passage way.

We followed him to where the path lifted and turned, intersecting with another path. Dustin saw a treasure chest and ran over to it, opening it and pulling out two more of those golden tails.

Oh yeah, I'd learned they were called Mega-phoenix's. Use them if more than one party member was knocked out, and it would revive and heal them all up fully.

Useful, to a degree.

Still, it's not like it could save Tori, and I had to bite back a glare at the excited grin on the Al Bhed's face.

Just as we were about to go over to the other path, a new spectre appeared. This one was of a young woman with long black hair, leading a young boy, also with long black hair, though his was pulled back into a ponytail, down the path. The woman looked sad, but the boy looked scared.

"No!" he cried, holding onto the hand of his mother. "Mother, no! I don't want you to become a Fayth!" he cried as the tears poured down his face.

The woman knelt by his side and gently touched his cheek as she gave him a sad smile. "There is no other way." she said softly. "Use me to defeat Sin. Only then will others accept you."

"I don't care about them!" he shouted angrily. "I need you, mother! No one else!" he wailed.

Sighing, she stood up and walked down the hall as he slowly trailed after her. "I don't...have much time left." she said thickly as she continued on.

Their ghosts faded away and everyone gasped. I felt my eyes widen as I recognized the boy, and for a split second, I felt bad for him, before my hatred bubbled back up. As much as I wanted to laugh at that image, I couldn't. It reminded me of dreams I used to have, where my mother and father would leave, and I'd beg them not to, but they wouldn't listen.

"Hey, wasn't that...?" Shane trailed off as his jaw dropped and he stared after the long faded images.

Dustin nodded, his jaw also hanging open and his eyes wide. "Lothor?" he muttered in shock.

We began to run up the pathway, heading for the next room, when all of a sudden, two transparent people raced along side us, passing us easily and heading to the doorway, where they stopped.

One was clearly Braska from what I remembered of his statue at the temple, and the other looked to be a younger version of Cam.

"Ah!" I cried in shock as I stopped about a foot from the transparent Cam and turned back, seeing our Cam looking a little pale.

"My Lord!" the younger Cam cried, fear shining in his black eyes. "You don't have to do this!"

Braska nodded slowly. "Thank you for your concern."

"Let us go back! I don't want to see you...die!" he spit out as he shook.

Sighing, Braska stood still in front of him. "You knew this was to happen, old friend."

"Yes, but I...I cannot accept it." he muttered.

"Cam...I am honoured that you care for me so, but I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin, and lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira. Please understand Cam."

The two spectres ran through the closed doorway and disappeared, and after a moment of silence, our group decided to follow them, finding them in the next room, much to everyone's surprise.

""Are the trials ahead?" Cam asked quietly.

"Probably." their Summoner muttered with a nod.

The ghosts faded away, and we made our way to what looked like an elevator. Going near it, it suddenly descended, and in it's place, a large fiend appeared. It looked like a skeletal fish, with spikes out of it's back, and giant boney wings.

"The Spectral Keeper!" Cam cried as he armed himself.

The rest of us followed suit, but strangely, the fiend stopped a moment and stared at me. Then it reared back and let out a mighty roar as it swung one of it's clawed fins forward, but I flipped over it and slashed it with the gleaming blue blades of my thunder blade.

'What the hell was that about?" I cried as I dodged another attack.

Hunter's whole body glowed yellow and to my surprise, he raised his hand to cast a thundag, butit cast 10 times before he finished, slumping slightly as he panted.

"I don't think it likes you!" Dustin called as he used grenades mixed with fire gems.

"Gee nah! I didn't notice!" I shot back with a glare. "What gave you that idea?" I continued as I flipped over it's fin again, only to be hit by the other one and sent flying.

As I landed, I frowned and made a face, clutching at my side as I staggered to my feet. Tori ran over and healed me, giving me a raised eyebrow while she was at it. "I think it's because it can probably sense you're a Summoner." she said with a shrug. "Remember what that man at the entrance said? It's unusual, and Lady Victoria probably didn't realize there were two of us."

"Maybe." I muttered. It certainly made sense, but then, why attack me? Unless...it was because I was made a Summoner and didn't go through the traning or something.

Cam used his Tornado attack as Hunter fired another volley of thundaga spells, Shane threw his spiked blitzball, and Dustin mixed a grenade and fire gem together. The cimonation of attacks weakened the giant fish a great deal, but it was still alive, and Hunter was out for the count as he panted to catch his breath and drank an elixer. Can too was pretty much out for the count, because he was uot of sake for the attacks.

Charging my blade with thunder energies, I combined it with casting a powerful firaga spell, making me dizzy, but I shrugged it off and charged with my blade ready, flipping and slicing the fiend down the middle of the stomach.

Dustin threw another grenade, and the thing faded away, bursting into a giant cloud of pyreflies as it faded from view.

As Tori raced to heal everyone up, and Dustin passed Cam a sake jar from hsi pouch, the elevator came back, and Tori stepped on alone. As it descended, I was sorely tempted to jump on and go with her, but for some reason, felt she wasn't in danger.

She wasn't gone two minutes when I heard the younger Cam's voice ring through the room with a note of concern in it.

"Huh? What do you mean there's no Final Aeon?"

I felt my eyes widen and took a step forward as the elevator came back up and Tori looked at all of us with wide eyes. "Sir Cam!" she called, but her eyes strayed to me as well.

We all jumped on the elevator and rode it to the lower level, where Tori took us all into a small room that was obviously the Chamber of the Fayth, from the stone statue in the center, where the Aeon was supposed to be...but...

"This isn't a Fayth! It's just an empty statue!" Tori cried, looking at the others with worry and a hint of relief.

Suddenly, the man from the entrance reappeared and sighed. "That statue lost it's power as a Fayth a long time ago. It was Lord Bradley..." he said, looking at me inquizzitively. I noticed the others looking at me as well and raised an eyebrow, feeling completely freaked out by the way they were staring. "The first Fayth of the Final Summoning. What you see before you, is all that remains of him. Lord Bradley...his soul...is gone."

"Gone?!" Shane cried in shock.

Dustin shook his head. "You mean, there is no Final Aeon?" he looked decidedly relieved at that. An expression that quickly turned to anger and worry at the stranger's next words.

"But fear not. Lady Victoria will show you the path. The Final Aeon will be yours. The Summoner..." he trailed off and looked at me. "Or Summoners, will join with the Final Aeon. Go to her now." he said as he began to fade away. He pointed to the door on the other side of the room and nodded. "Inside, the Lady awaits." were his final words as he faded away once again.

"Tori, wait!" I called as I turned to Cam. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Yes." he admitted softly.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Dustin screamed angrily.

"If I had told you the truth, would that really have stopped you from coming?" he shot back, remaining calm.

Hunter sighed. "Tori..."

"I'm not going back." she said firmly.

"I know." he admitted as he walked to the doorway first. "I will go first to protect you. You will be safe." he said sternly as he walked through the door.

We all walked through the doorway, and into a large round chamber. There was only one other exit, across the room and at the top of a long flight of stairs. As we walked to the center of the room, the door opened and we heard footsteps approaching.

"Someone's coming!" Dustin cried as he took a step back.

I walked to Tori's side as she gasped at the figure that approached. "Lady Victoria."

The young woman came down the stairs, her long blonde hair fanning out behind her, and the skimpy outfit barely covering anything. I noticed Dustin raise an appreciative eyebrow and shook my head with a frown.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she smiled warmly at us, a smile that froze and turned to a confused frown when she looked at me. "Two Summoners." she stated in a deep, seductive voice. "How odd." With a shake of her head, she nodded to us.

"Welcome to Zanarkand." she stated, her smile back on her face. "I congraduate you, Summoners. You have completed your pilgrimages. I will now bestow upon you, that which you seek. The Final Summoning...will be yours. Now chose." she gestured to Hunter, Dustin and Cam. Pausing a moment, she looked at Cam closely before continuing on with the faintest of frowns. "You must chose whom I shall change...to become Fayth for the Summoning."

"There must be a bond between the chosen and Summoner, for that is what the Final Summoning embodies. The bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends."

That made a bizarre kind of sense. And I realized, that was why Lothor wanted to marry Tori. It was the only way he could see, to become Sin.

"If that bond is strong enough, the light will vaquish Sin. A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Bradley, as my Fayth. Our bond was true and I obtained the Final Aeon. There is nothing to fear. You will soon be freed of worry and pain. For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end."

_Yep, she's as looney as the others._ I thought dryly, listening as she spoke of a Summoner giving up her life, as calmly as if she was talking about the weather.

"Death is the ultimate and final liberation." Looking to Tori, she gave her a warm smile. "Your father, Braska, chose this path."

With a sweep of her hands, the area became misty and the ghostly figures of Braska and a younger Cam reappeared, as Victoria disappeared.

"It's not too late! Let us turn back!" Cam cried a he looked at Braska.

The Summoner shook his head. "If I turn back, who will defeat Sin? Would you have another Summoner and their Guardians go through this?"

I began to realize just why Tori kept going. As much as she didn't want to die, she didn't want to pass this burden on to anyone else, either.

"There must be another way!" When he saw that his Summoner was not about to be budged, he sighed.

Another man appeared in the image, though his face was blurry. "Chose me to become your Final Aeon." he said in a vaguely familiar voice.

Images rushed through my head, and I winced a bit at their forcefulness. It looked like I was watching another version of myself, a much _younger_ version of myself, yell at a man who looked exactly like my father.

_I hate you!_ the boy cried as the other man laughed.

_Cry, cry. That's all you're good for._ the older Bradley taunted.

_**That is the other version of you. He does not exist in this world, but does in our dreamworld of Zanarkand. His father, was sent to Spira to find a way to beat Sin, but he failed and became Sin instead. **_Lulu said gravely.

"There must be another way!" the image of Cam repeated as I shook my head, feeling confused.

_So then...that other man is Zanarkand's Blake's father?_ I thought in confusion.

_**Correct. Though you two are not connected, we needed to explain this to you so you would be somewhat prepared.**_ Yuna put in.

_Great!_ I thought sarcastically.

"I been doing some thinking." The third man stated seriously. "My dream is back in my world, in my Zanarkand. I wanted to make that runt into a star blitzball player. Show him the view from the top, you know. But now I know there's no way home for me."

_I'm sorry son._ his mental voice flowed through my mind. _Be good for your mother._

_An old lady once told me, that when a love bird dies, it's mate slowly give up on life..._ An older Spiran Blake's voice followed it. _When my father left, my mom just gave up on life. She died of a broken heart._

"Make me a Fayth. I'll fight Sin with you, Braska. Then maybe, my life'll have meaning." the man finished, appearing clearly.

He looked to be in his late thirties, with long black hair that was slightly wavy, but hung down slightly messily to just past his shoulders, with a red bandanna across his forehead. He had black eyes and a dark tan, with a slight beard. He was shirtless, and wore leather breeches, with a strange, fancy, 'J' shape tattooed across his chest.

"Don't do this, Jecht!" the younger Cam cried, looking at the man pleadingly.

Braska sighed. "Jecht."

"What? You're not gonna try to stop me, are you?" he asked, sounding slightly put out.

"Sorry." Braska said slightly, before shaking his head. "I mean, thank you."

"Braska still has to fight Sin, Cam. Guard him well. Make sure he gets there." with a slight grunt and a wince, he nodded. "Well, let's go."

"Lord Braska! Jecht!" the memory of Cam cried as the others turned to face him. "Sin comes back every time! It comes back after the Calm, every time! The cycle will continue and your deaths will mean nothing!" he shouted.

"I understand what you're saying, Cam. I'll find a way to break the cycle." Jecht told him.

I watched in morbid fascination as the strange otherworld version of my father smirked. It was unnerving and slightly..._painful_ to see my father like this, even if it wasn't _my_ father. And since he became Sin, that meant, I'd have to...kill him. Losing my father twice, I wondered...just what did I do to deserve being tormented like this?

"You have a plan?" The younger version of Cam questioned almost hopefully.

"Trust me. I'll think of something." Jecht said confidently.

The images of Braska and Jecht walked up the stairs and disappeared into the other room. Meanwhile, Cam unsheathed his sword and slashed it through the center of his ghostly image's body, making the image dissipate.

"And the cycle went one." he said angrily as he glared at the ground and panted savagely, sheathing his sword once again.

I raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what to make of this. This had to be the first time I'd seen Spira's Cam lose his temper, and it was kind of scarey. Shaking my head, I focused on the task at hand. "We'll break it!" I insisted firmly.

"But how? Wait. You got a plan, now?" Shane put in incredulously.

_Hell yeah!_ I thought to myself, but didn't want to say it out loud at the moment. I didn't trust that 'Lady' Victoria, and didn't want to chance that she'd over hear me and possibly try to stop me.

"If one of us has to become a Fayth...I volunteer." Hunter put in, looking at Tori with a sad smile. His gaze turned to me and became openly pained, but he remained quiet.

I felt tears come to my eyes at that. I could only hope that we could stop this from happening, but hearing him openly volunteer still hurt. It made me feel helpless, or...more helpless than I already felt.

"Me too, Tori!" Shane agreed with a nod.

"That still won't change anything, you know?" I told them, glaring slightly. "You'd bring the Calm, and then what? That won't break the cycle!"

"Listen...You wanna defeat Sin and keep Tori alive..." Shane put in, shaking his head. "You don't want Sin to come back, ya? That is just not gonna happen, bruddah, you know?"

Hunter nodded and looked at me with his pained eyes. "If you want everything, you'll end up with nothing." he put in softly.

"But I want everything!" I shouted as I glared at them.

"Now you're just being childish!" Shane scolded.

"I might not have a chance, but no way am I gonna let Tori go!" I shouted angrily as I panted. "And what Cam said about there being another way..." I hesitated a split second and changed what I was going to say, stll not wanting to give up my secret. "I think it's true!"

" 'You'll think of something'?" Dustin asked carefully, not daring to look hopeful.

"We'll ask Victoria. She's got to know something." I insisted.

"You really think she'll help you?" he pressed, his gree eyes brightening a touch.

"I don't know but I have to try! This is my story!" I was taking Cam's earlier words and using them as my own. "It'll go the way I want, or I'll end it here!"

"Wait." Tori said softly as she looked at me. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and she stared at me, a confused look lying in her eyes. "You say it's your story, but it's mine too, you know? It would be so easy...to just let my fate carry me away...following this same path my whole life through. But I know...I can't. What I do...I do, with no regrets.

She marched up the stairs with determination, though sorrow and fer radiated from her body. Hesitantly, we followed her up the stairs and through the door, finding a large square room beyond.

Would Lady Victoria help us? Personally, I seriously doubted that. If anything, I kept myself ready for battle at all times.

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Hmmm...wow...good thing I ended it there. More to come yet...including an interesting meeting.

Working all night...too tired to say much about this chapter, and I was completely blank about a title.

I really hope you like this chapter.

R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	35. Zanarkand's False Hope Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Has anyone seen my hands? They fell off a while ago. LOL.

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(Zanarkand Part 2)

When we got to the next room, I looked around, noting how the sky was nothing but a black void. There were no stars, clouds, moon or sun. Nothing. It was just empty, pitch black nothingness. The room itself was also in ruin, broken pillars lying here and there. At the far side of the room, Victoria stood, her hair hanging limply behind her as she watched us with a smile that bordered on a smirk.

I kept my place beside Tori as we approached, not wanting to let this unsent witch get her hands on her.

""Have you chosen the ones who will become your Fayths?" she asked as she looked at the two of us, her eyes almost glowing in the dim light of the room. "Who will they be?"

Tori took a deep breath and linked her fingers with mine as she took a single step forward, bringing me with her. Victoria looked to our clasped hands, and I could've sworn her smile became genuine a moment before it turned fake again as Tori spoke up. "Might I ask something first?" she asked politely as her hand squeezed mine. "Will Sin come back, even should I use the Final Summoning to defeat it?"

Victoria chuckled slightly as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Sin...is eternal. Every Aeon that defeats it, becomes Sin in it's place...and thus, Sin is reborn."

"So that's why Jecht became Sin." I stated, still not used to the thought that this man was a different version of my father.

"Sin is an inevitable part of Spira's destiny. It is neverending." she said simply with a small shrug.

Shane shook his head. "Neverending? But...but...if we atone for our crimes, Sin will stop coming back, ya? Someday, it'll be gone, ya?" he insisted frantically, his eyes shining with a hint of fals hope.

"Will humanity ever truly obtain such purity?" Victoria questioned back.

"This...This cannot be!" Hunter cried as lightning crackled at his fingertips. "The teachings state that we can exorcise Sin with complete atonement! It's been our only hope of all these years!" His eyes flashed dangerously as he glared at the unsent Summoner in front of all of us.

"Hope is...comforting." she stated, an almost bitter gleam in her eyes that vanished a moment later. "It allows us to escape fate, however tragic it might be."

"No!" I cried, realizing what she was saying.

Suddenly, the image of a younger Cam faced off against an image of Victoria.

"No! Where is the sense in all this?! Braska believed in Yevon's teachings and died for them! Jecht believed in Braska and gave his life for him!" he cried angrily as tears trailed down his cheeks.

She smiled and shook her head. "They chose to die...because they had hope." she said softly.

With an anguished cry, the younger Cam grabbed his sword and charged at Lady Victoria, only to have her raise her hand and send him flying. When he hit the ground, he landed akwardly on his neck, and didn't move. Then, the images faded away.

"Yevon's teachings and the Final Summoning give the people of Spira hope. Without hope, they would drown in their sorrow. Now, choose. Who will be your Fayth? Who will be the one to renew Spira's hope?"

For a split second, I noticed Tori's body faintly glowing a light blue. Her eyes that had been wide with shock, turned from their normal light blue to bi-colored. One was a clear ocean blue, and the other, a bright forest green. They darkened in anger, and she took another step forward, letting go of my hand.

I let her go, somehow knowing this wasn't my Tori. Other than her eyes, the way she held herself was more regal, and the anger that radiated off of her, seemed more personal.

There was no doubt in my mind, this was Spira's Tori.

"No one." she answered clearly, her voice ringing with innocence and anger. "I would have gladly died. I live for the people of Spira, and would gladly have died for them. But no more!" she cried with a shake of her head. Her hands clenched by her sides as she took a trembling breath. "The FInal Summoning...is a false tradition that should be thrown away!"

Victoria seemed startled to find herself facing a whole different person, and her eyes narrowed, but she remained calm. "No. It's our only hope. Your father..." she trailed off as she looked at me. "Your fathers sacrificed themselves to give that hope to the people. So they would forget sorrow."

Shaking her head again, Tori stepped back, standing beside me. "Wrong." she said lowly, her conviction raidiating from her eyes. "My father...Our fathers wanted...to make Spira's sorrow go away. Not just cover it up with lies!" she spat.

"Sorrow cannot be abolished. It is meaningless to try." Something in Victoria's eyes gleamed with a great sadness before it faded away.

A tear slipped out of Spira Tori's eyes and she released a shakey sigh. "My father...I loved him..." she stated, her voice trembling with pain and fatigue. "So I...I will live with my sorrow. I will live my own life! I will defeat sorrow, in his place. I will stand my ground and be strong. I don't know when, but it will be someday. I will conquer it. And I will do it without...false hope."

With those words, she glowed again, and in the blink of an eye, my Tori was back, clearly seething with anger at the unsent Summoner as she grabbed her staff. I followed her lead, grabbing my thunder blade, and I knew the others were arming themselves too.

Victoria laughed, a cold, dead sound, and glowed as she rose over a seal she was standing on. "Poor creatures. You would throw away hope. Well...I will free you before you can drown in your sorrow. It is better for you to die in hope, than live in despair. Let me be your liberator."

Cam stepped forward, his massive sword resting on his shoulder. "Now!" he cried. "This is it! Now is the time to chose! Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!"

Dustin nodded and stepped forward as he fixed his claw over his hand and grinned. "Well I'm fighting!" he called.

"I can't believe we're gonna fight Lady Victoria!" Shane cried in despair. "Gimme a break!"

"You can always run!" Hunter called, raising an eyebrow as thunder crackled between his finger tips.

"Hah!" Shane cried. "I'd never forgive myself, no way! Not if I run away now! Even in death, ya!"

"My thoughts exactly." Hunter put in with a crooked grin.

Taking a page out of Cam's book, I looked to Tori who looked back and smiled at me. "Tori! This is our story! Let's see this thing through together!"

She nodded and her smile grew.

We ran over to Victoria and formed a circle around her as she floating in the air. Her skin had turned a deathly pale and her eyes glowed a malicious red.

Cam started off by using his Tornado attack, causing her to spin around in the air as the explosions hit her. Dustin threw a grenade in the mix before mixing up a new attack with items he stole from fiends. One was a viel of really nasty smelling stuff he stole off a flying eyeball, yeah, that was weird, and the other was something he stole from one of those bombs we fought in the Al Bhed home. Throwing them at Victoria, it caused a powerful firey explosion and when the fire died down, Victoria was binded and poisoned.

Shane spun his blitzball on his finger before thorwing it up in the air and flipping, kicking it hard and sending it flying at our enemy as Hunter cast a series of thundaga spells, before charging and casting a volley of firaga spells.

Tori stood behind us all, casting protective magics on us as I charged my newfound fire spell and let it fly, immediately charging with my blade and following it up with a flip attack.

Lady Victoria fell to the ground, only to grow in size and have her hair turn into tentacles. Horns grew from her head, and she grew an extra set of arms. The tentacles lashed out and hit Hunter and Tori, bringing both of them to their knees, and I ran in, slicing at her and driving her back.

Gasping, Tori cast a powerful curaga spell on herself before standing and running over to Hunter to do the same.

Dustin threw another grenade before running forward and slashing her with his claw, grabbing a glowing white gem from her and dropping it into his pouch for later use.

Cam and Shane attacked simultaniously. Cam ran forward and slashed at the tentacles, clearing a path to her vulnerable body, and Shane attacked her face with his blitzball, stunning her. I joined in the attack, helping Cam get to her body, and together we slashed her visciously.

"False hope." I muttered darkly as I glared into her dead eyes. "You're one to talk." Slashing her again, I retreated back to the others.

Again she changed. Her body fell back onto the ground, and began changing. It was undescribable, but once she was done, smoke appeared all around her, obscuring her from view, as something rose fro mthe ground. Once the smoke faded away, we were facing a giant...face. It's long hair was tentacles, like Victoria's, and her own body was part of the back of it's head. It turned face down to the ground, and her body raised as she lifted a hand, and we all had to dodge the tentacles that flew from the ground and attacked us.

One hit Dustin, bringing him to the ground, unmoving, and one clipped Shane's shoulder.

Hunter counterattacked with a volley of blizzaga spells as Cam sliced at the tentacles to hold them back, and I raced over to Shane with a hi-potion and anitdote as Tori healed Dustin.

"Thanks, ya." Shane muttered as he stood up slowly, glaring at our enemy. "I can't believe we're fighting her." he muttered.

I shook my head. Here we were all fighting for our lives, and he was still griping about fighting an unsent Summoner.

I backed up a ways, before twirling my blade and Summoning Bahamut to me. I glared at the ex-Summoner and sneered. "Bahamut! Mega-Flare attack!"

Jumping into the air with a mighty roar, Bahamut flipped and landed on all fours. The wheel on his back began spinning slowly, picking up speed each second, He roared again and dug his claws into the ground as his body shook with the force of the building attack within him. A glowing light appeared in his mouth and shot out towards Victoria, engulfing her in light. Explosions could be seen and heard, and another beam of light erupted from the ground, housing more explosions.

When they finally faded away, I heard Tori's voice. "Shiva! Diamond Dust attack!" she called.

I spun around to find her a little ways to my left, her ice Aeon standing beside her. I'd been so engrossed in the battle, I hadn't even noticed her Summon. Raising an eyebrow, I took a couple of steps back and watched as Shiva coated the battle field, and Victoria, in ice, before she snapped her fingers and the ice exploded, damaging the enemy harshly.

The face faded away, leaving Victoria hunched over as she struggled to keep standing, and we knew the battle was over. Dismissing our Aeons, we walked up to her warily, keeping ourselves ready for an attack.

"If I die, so does the Final Aeon." she murmured with a warning look.

Raising an eyebrow, I folded my arms over my chest. _Uhh...lady? You'r already dead._ I thought wryly.

"And with it, Spira's only hope."

"Then we'll find Spira a new hope." I said with a shake of my head, and glare at the former Summoner.

"Fool." she spat as she glared right back at me. "There is no other way. Even if there was...Even if you did destroy Sin...Yu Yevon the immortal, would only create a new Sin."

Frowning, I watched her carefully. "Yu Yevon?!" So there was more to this than met the eyes. I should've known.

"Ah...Bradley...Forgive me." Victoria whispered as she gave a sad look around her. "Spira has been robbed of the light of hope...All that remains is sorrow."

With those final words, she collapsed to the ground and faded away into pyreflies.

"I cannot believe what we just did!" Tori stated with wide eyes.

Raising an eyebrow at her, I saw a hint of the bi-colored eyes before they returned to her normal blue ones and felt myself frown. I'd known that my Tori and Spira's Tori were in the same body, but I didn't know they were somehow...coexisting. I guessed, it sort of explained when Tori and I would be alone, and she'd still seem to be acting like Spira's Tori.

With a nod, I smirked. "Let's do something more unbelieveable!" I cheered.

Dustin looked at me warily. "Like what?" he questioned hesitantly.

"Let's defeat Sin...for good!"

Slowly and hesitantly, our group moved to the stairs, heading out of the room. I made to follow them, but Cam stood at the stairs, and held me back.

"We must talk." he said quietly, sadness clear in his voice.

I already knew what he wanted to say, and a part of me wasn't surprised. It explained how he could fight Voctoria and Sin and still be around. I mean, he'd told me that the Summoners and their Guardians died after fighting Sin, but here he was. So yeah, I figured it out.

"There is something you should know." he continued.

I nodded. "I know...It's about you, right?"

"I am also an unsent. You are not surprised?" He certainly seemed surprised at my reaction.

I shook my head. "I think I kinda knew. It was Victoria, wasn't it?" When he landed on his neck and stopped moving. No one could survive a fall like that.

"When Braska and Jecht died fighting Sin...I just couldn't accept it." he explained sadly. "I came back here, tried to avenge them. But she struck me down. Somehow I made my way, crawling, down Mt. Gagazet. But my strength left me just outside of the Ronso village. They took care of me until I was strong enough to continue, but they didn't know I was unsent. Honestly, I didn't know either. I knew I felt different, but couldn't explain it." He sighed. "I've been wandering ever since, never going to the Farplane."

"Cam..." I muttered, feeling sorry for my friend.

"Don't make that face." he said firmly as he glared at me slightly. With another sigh, his look softened. "Being dead has it's advantages. I was able to speak to the Fayth about a promise I had made to Jecht. That's why they brought you and Tori."

"I don't get it." I muttered, feeling myself frown. "Why me? And why Tori?"

"I am not sure how to explain Tori...and it will be difficult to explain you. Hmmm..." He seemed to think a moment. "Very well. I will show you my memories."

With that, a cloud of pyreflies formed around him and I saw the ghostly images of Jecht and the younger Cam.

"Can I ask you one last favor? Uh...nah." he shook his head, his shaggy hair swinging around wildly. "Forget it."

"Spill it!" the younger Cam ordered with a growl.

"Okay. Listen good. I need you to take care of my son. My son, in Zanarkand. He's such a cry baby. He'll need someone there to hold his hand." he snorted and shook his head. "Take care of him, will you?"

"All right, I will. I will take care of your son. I give you my word, I will protect him with my life."

The images faded away and I raided an eyebrow as I faced Cam. "Well that's nice and all, but that Zanarkand-"

"Is a dream." he cut me off. "I know. I went there and looked after the other you, until I sensed it was time for Sin to return. That Blake never had to fight a day in his life and wouldn't be able to defeat Sin. Stop it for good. Neither he nor Jecht ever realized their world was a dream and they weren't real. Somehow, travelling through Sin to this Spira, however he did it, Jecht was touched by Sin, and in some strange way, it made him real enough to exist here."

"That's confusing and all, but what's it got to do with me?"

"You are Spiran Blake's replacement. As I stated, he has never had to fight, and did not have what it took to beat Sin permanently. That is why...you were brought in his place. Your power is great, and will be necessary for the final steps to beating it forever. I believe, that is also why Tori was brought here. Her power, added to your own, should be more than enough to save all of Spira once and for all."

"And this bull about her dying?" I put in doubtfully.

"If you can figure out how to defeat Sin permanently, you will be sent back. She won't die."

I didn't like the sound of that and frowned. He'd said she wouldn't die, but he also _didn't_ say we'd _both_ be sent back. I wondered if he was hiding something, or perhaps, he just stated it wrong accidentally.

"Sin _wants_ to be destroyed."

_That_ caught my attention. Turning to Cam, I sighed. "I know. I sensed it under Macalania temple."

He nodded. "He is losing his remaining humanity, but as long as he can, he controls Sin and tries to keep him from attacking."

Thinking about it, I realized it _was_ strange. I'd heard Sin was such a monster that attacked anyone and anything, but the only real recent damage I'd seen since coming to Spira, was Kilika. Sin hadn't really attacked us that day on the boat, or that day under Macalania.

"He knows we are his only hope." Cam stated as he made his way to the stairs. "He is buying us all the time he can to figure things out."

Nodding with a thoughtful frown, I followed him out of the temple, meeting up with the others at the entrance. They were staring in terror and shock outside, and I ran forward to see what was up. For a brief, heartstopping moment, I thought Lothor was back, but when I looked out, I saw it was worse...or better...depending on your point of view.

Sin was outside the temple, floating over the massive lake on the other side of Zanarkand. He just floated there, not moving and not attacking.

Again, I could feel the grief and pain inside it and felt my own heart skipping a beat sympathetically. _I know. The Final Summoning's gone, but we'll find a way. I promise._ I thought. In fact, I already knew of a way, and the more I learned, the more cemented it became, but I still wasn't ready to admit it to the others. The last thing I wanted was to cause them false hope.

Sin seemed to hear me, because it turned and slowly sank back into the water, disappearing from sight. The next thing we knew, the sound of a large engine was heard, and an all too familir airship came into view. It seemed to see us and docked a ways ahead, opening a port for us to board.

I knew the time was coming closer, and with a glance to Tori, I saw the sadness and confusion in her face, showing me she felt it too.

Together, we boarded the ship silently, most of us still in shock over what happened and what we learned, and the rest, trying to sort through their mixed up thoughts.

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Hmmm...interesting. I'm lost with everything I've said and where I am, but I'm going on for everyone. I hope this makes some sense, and possibly explains a few things to everyone.

Hope you liked this.

R+R please.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and encouraged me to continue this fic.

Tenshi


	36. Airship Plans and Return to Bevelle

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I honestly don't know how much I have left, but we're getting close.

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(Al Bhed Airship)

As we walked onto the bridge, we noticed Cid and Brother still in their respective places. Tori looked a little nervous as she walked up to the bald Al Bhed with the others, and I felt a little bad for her. Though this man wasn't really related to _her_, he was Spiran Tori's uncle...an uncle she'd never met until now.

"Frana du huf? (Where to now?)" Brother called excitedly.

Cid snorted as he looked at everyone, staring at Tori the longest with a confused look on his face that quickly faded with a shrug. "Aren't we the jappy lookin' bunch?" he questioned sarcastically, noting the saddened and confused looks on most of our faces.

Brother bounced in his seat. "Frana? Frana? (Where? Where?)" he cried.

Dustin glared at him coldly and sneered. " 'Where? Where?' Is that all you can say? Why don't you think of something?!" he yelled.

"Well? Any good ideas?" Cam asked us all, now talking about how to defeat Sin permanently.

I shrugged. "Come on, help us?"

He sighed and folded his arms over his chest. "What do we know... Sin is Jecht. That means, you have a link...a bond with Sin. That may be our key."

Because I was his son, in a strange way. I may have been from a different world, but I was still Blake Bradley. "So what do we do?"

"We think, and we wait." Cam stated wisely as he leaned against a nearby wall.

_Great._ "Two things I'm bad at." I mumbled.

Tori sighed and headed out of the bridge, Hunter following behind her with a worried look. I noticed Dustin walk over to an empty console and went over to him. "You ok?" I asked quietly, recalling that the last time we were on this airship, his home was destroyed.

He sighed and turned to look at me. "Sometimes...When I have a _lot_ on my mind...It just helps to go, AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" He let out an ear shattering scream that sent me back a couple of feet, coverng my ears and wincing.

Blinking a moment in shock when the scream died down, I looked around to notice everyone staring at the Al Bhed in shock, and the sheepish grin he gave them all. "What the hell was that about?!" I yelled, rubbing my ears and wiping away the pained tears that had fallen. _Shit that hurt!_

He shrugged a bit and turned back to the console, and I walked out of the bridge with wide eyes as I rubbed my now aching temples. "Damn!" I muttered. Dustin sure had a hell of a set of lungs, _that's_ for sure!

Heading up to the upper deck, I noticed Tori looking out a window with a sad expression on her face, and Hunter looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "We heard that scream from all the way up here." he put in dryly.

Tori giggled and turned, her sad expression melting away as she looked at me with amusement. "I should've told you Dustin can be a little..._strange._" she managed to say through her giggles.

"Too bad I had to find out the hard way." I mumbled as I shook my head.

With a sigh, Tori turned back to the window. "I'm no good." she said quietly.

"What're you talking about?"

"All this time, I've been thinking about how to defeat Sin. But I...Beyond the teachings of Yevon, I don't know anything. I'm sorry.."

Hunter shook his head. "Don't apologize."

"Huh?" Tori turned to the blonde black mage and frowned.

"Apology is running. Tori, you don't run. If the answer doesn't lie in Yevon's teachings, it must lie outside them."

She nodded. "Bot what's the plan?"

"Mika knows. We'll find him and make him talk."

I nodded with a grin. "That's it!" That's where the answer had to be. "Hunter, bro, you rock!" I cheered as we headed back down to the bridge.

When we got back to the bridge, we found Shane and Dustin talking animatedly. As they saw us approach, they grinned and walked up to us, obviously having some good news for us...for once.

"Hey guys! We just had a great idea!" Shane called.

Dustin nudged him slightly and gave him a mock glare. "It was _my_ idea! Let me tell them!" he insisted.

Shane didn't seem to hear him as he continued. "It's like this ya?"

"I just thought-"

"The Hymn is the key." Hunter cut in, looking thoughtful.

Raising an eyebrow, I turned to look at him. From the expressions on Shane and Dustin's faces, he'd hit the nail on the head, but if he was with us, how did he know, unless there was something I was missing. "The Hymn?" As in, the voices that sang at the temples?

"Sir Jecht likes the Hmn, correct?" Hunter asked me.

_Why ask me?_ I thought darkly. I didn't know the guy, but I guessed he did, if the way Sin was sitting outside Macalania was any indication. "I guess." I answered, not really knowing what else to say.

Dustin nodded with a grin. "That's why he was listening to it in Macalania!" he chirped, following my thoughts.

"Sin...violence incarnate...listening peacefully." Hunter mused out loud.

I felt myself frown at that. Sin was known as violence incarnate, yet I also knew there was still a human side to him. A gentler side.

"If we attack Sin head on, we've little chance of winning. However, if he hears the Hymn of the Fayth, he will become docile."

That made a strange kind of sense. It brought a whole knew meaning to the saying 'music hath charm to sooth the savage beast'. If Sin was docile, we'd stand a much better chance of beating it, but then, there was still the whole rebirth thing.

"Yeah! That's when we make our move! It might be against the rules, but who's keeping track, ya? Ya?" Shane put in excitedly

Dustin nodded. "Yeah! It could really work!"

"Yeah." I muttered. I still knew there was more to it than that, but played along until I knew the time was right. "Yeah! It's worth a try!"

Going to Cid, I told him we wanted to go to Bevelle. He gave me a strange look, but nodded slowly and told Brother. In no time, we were hovering over the very city that almost killed us. The very city I hoped never to see again, after Tori's almost marriage to Lothor.

(Bevelle)

When we teleported down to the blue glowing sphere at the end of what the others called, the Highbridge, I looked back at the sphere, raising an eyebrow. I'd thought they were only good for healing, but as I'd just witnessed, that wasn't the case. Apparently, they also served as points we could teleport to, to save us a hell of a lot of walking.

Heading up the Highbridge, to where we fought Lothor, we were met by two heavily armed guards who quickly aimed their weapons at us and snarled.

"Infidels!" one cried.

Shane shook his head and sighed. "Man, don't these guys ever give up?" he groaned.

"You will regret showing your face here!" he continued as he aimed his weapon at Shane's face. "We'll strike you down in the name of Yevon!"

"Blah, blah, blah." I mocked as I sighed. "Yeah, so? Guys?"

Dustin fixed his claw and glared at the guards. "If they want a fight, let's give 'em one!" he called out.

"Prepare to charge!" The guard yelled to his companion.

That's when Ashley appeared, running towards them. "Stop!" she called, halting their attack.

The guard who had spoken up, turned to find her running up to him and frowned as he lowered his gun. "Captain?"

"Lady Tori is _not_ to be harmed!" she called as she slowed to a stop in front of them. "She's no traitor! That is an evil rumor spraed by the Al Bhed!"

Dustin's eyes widened before they narrowed dangerously, and only Shane's hand on his arm kept him from charging at the girl. "What?" he hissed angrily.

"Maester Mika himself told me." she informed everyone.

I frowned at that. Was it possible he was trying to get rid of Dustin, or perhaps, he was trying to help us get past and just didn't know that one of Tori's Guardians was an Al Bhed?

"Then...what are we to do?" The guard asked unsurely.

"Stand down!" Dustin called, still glaring at Ashley.

Seemingly unaware of the glare, she nodded. "As he says!"

The guards lowered their weapons and walked away, leaving her alone withour group.

"What was that about evil Al Bhed?" Dustin growled angrily.

Ashley offered him a small bow and a shake of her head. "I... truly do not understand it myself. All Yevon seems to be in a state of confusion. Why, yesterday, they called me out of the blue and made me a captain of the guard!"

"Short on believers?" Cam asked in a smug tone.

She didn't seem to notice it. "Yes. The chaos in the temples is worse than I'd imagined. It's horrible! And all the priests do is blame each other! I worry what will becomes of Yevon, but no! I must be the rock that stands against the swirling tides, right? Lady Tori, I must tell you, your courage has been a great inspiration to me."

I snorted and held back from rolling my eyes. "Yeah. That's great and all, but we came here to see Maester Mika. Is he in?"

"Yes. I will arrange an audience. Please go wait in the courtroom." she said before bowing and running off.

"Hey, hey, wait! What was all that about the Al Bhed lying and stuff?" Dustin called after her with a pout.

Cam shrugged. "Simple. Tori has become Mika's last hope."

Frowning, Dustin hesitantly nodded. "Oh, ok."

"Just what does he think he can get away with?" Hunter said angrily as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Time to teach him some manners!" I growled.

Tori nodded with an angry look in her eyes. "Yes, let's!"

Heading to the courtroom, we didn't have to wait long to find Mika come rushing in to meet us. He looked terrified, and we knew why.

"Why are you here? You must go and defeat Sin, quickly!" he cried in terror as his whole body shook. "You have obtained the Final Aeon from Lady Victoria, have you not?"

"Well, we did go see her." I began hesitantly, not sure how he'd take the news.

Tori seemed to opt for the direct approach. "We fought and defeated her." she said evenly.

"What?!" he cried angrily.

Cam shrugged. "Summoners and Guardians will be sacrificed for the Final Summoning no more!" he insisted firmly.

"You have profaned and subverted a thousand year old tradition? Fools! Infants! Do you realize what you've done?! You've taken away the only means of calming Sin!" he shouted.

I snorted and took a step forward. "Hey! Maybe that's not the only way! We think we've got another!" I shot at him.

He looked at me a moment and his eyes narrowed in confusion before he shook his headn and groaned. "What...preposterous! There is no other way!" he insisted loudly, his body beginning to fade slightly.

"The Grand Maester, running away?" Cam put in smugly.

Miks shook his head angrily, but with a hint of sadness. "Spira has lost it's only hope. Destruction is inevitable. Yu Yevon's spiral of death will consume us all. I have no desire to watch Spira die." he said more calmly.

"It won't die!" Tori insisted angrily as she took a step forward.

"Who is this Yu Yevon guy?" I asked curiously.

Hunter nodded. "Yes. Lady Victoria also mentioned him."

"Wait, gramps!" Dustin called loudly. "Who's Yu Yevon?"

With a sigh, Mika solidified somewhat. "He who crafts the souls of the dead into unholy armor. An armor called Sin. Clad in it, Yu Yevon is invincible. And the only thing that could have pierced that armor, you have destroyed! Nothing can stop it now!"

With those final words, Maester Mika faded away into pyreflies, ceasing to exist on Spira.

"Disappear on us, will ya? Rotten son of a shoopuf!" Shane swore.

Ashley ran in and stopped, looking around in confusion. "Where...where is the Grand Maester?"

"He, um..." Tori looked to the others for help, knowing that no one else seemed to know that he was unsent.

Cam sighed and took a step forward, masking his face with irritation. "He's not here yet." he lied to her. "How long must we wait?"

Frowning, Ashley shook her head. "That's odd..." she mumbled to herself. Straightening up, she looked at the rest of us. "I'll go look for his grace." With that, she took off out of the room, and as soon as the door shut, the red headed Fayth of Bahamut appeared in his transparent form.

"It's you." I said as I looked at him.

"Come to my room." he said simply with a nod.

Tori, who stood beside me, nodded back and looked at me. "Yes." she confirmed.

He disappeared and the others looked at us. "Who you talking to?" Shane questioned curiously.

"Oh. Uh, no one." I said as I scratched the back of my neck nervously.

Tori nodded. "I must go see the Fayth." she said firmly as she headed out of the room.

"I see." Cam muttered to her back.

I watched he for a moment before sighing and running after her. Whatever he wanted, I wasn't sure it was good, but I was curious to know what he had to say.

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The next chapters might be longer or shorter and might contain more than one place. I think, these are fillers and explanations to the story. I hope you like them.

LOL. Dustin screaming...I got that from when Tidus speaks to Rikku and she screams.

Ahem...anyways...I hope you like this chapter.

R+R please.

Thanks everyone.

Tenshi.


	37. Meeting a Fayth and SIN!

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : A big question...** Should I do a sequel?** If I do, this will have the original ending, the sad one. If not, it'll have a happy ending. I'd like to do a sequel, but don't know if I can, but I'll surely try. Either way...your opinion would mean a lot. Well, I can start the sequel and you can let me know what you think?

Special thanks to ... **OB1follower/ThunderBrosRule27**, **Pinklen98**, and **JuseaPeterson**for reviewing a lot and keeping me going. Your encouragement and comments really helped with the progress of this fic and I am very grateful for your help.

This is not the last chapter, but I am close to the end of the story. I really hope you like it. In the last three chapters, I have tried to veer more off the storyline to include more interaction between the characters and tried to offer a bit more in them. I am keeping with how things go, but I offered thoughts and interactions that didn't happen in the game...that I know of...

Ahem...anyways...back to the fic...

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(Chamber of the Fayth)

When Tori and I entered the Chamber of the Fayth, Wakka was there waiting for us.

"Hello." he said with a small smile.

"I must thank you for the Aeon." Tori said with a small bow.

I nodded and followed her lead. God knows how often it saved us! "So, what's up?" I asked curiously.

Turning serious, Wakka sighed. "So have you found a way to truly defeat Sin?"

"Well..." I sighed. "We think so."

"How?"

"The Hymn." I answered immediately.

Frowning slightly, Wakka nodded a little slowly. "Hmmm...perhaps."

Tori looked on in confusion. "You mean, it might not work?"

"It has been a long time since Jecht became Sin. He might not be able to hear the Hymn anymore."

I nodded. "I know it's a long shot...but we gotta try it if there's a chance!" I insisted.

"Yes, you must." Wakka agreed with a tiny smile. "I'm glad you are doing this. You have a good spirit, truly."

_It's not like you gave us much of a choice._ I thought to myself with a raised eyebrow, but hesitantly, I had to admit, I didn't want to see the people of Spira suffering any more than they already were.

"If it works, what then? You'll need more than the Hymn." The Fayth of Bahamut pointed out.

Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest. "We fight Yu Yevon." I muttered as I recalled what was said.

Now Wakka did smile. "Yes. If you defeat Yu Yevon, it will end. Tell me, what do you know about Yu Yevon?"

"He's what makes Sin come back!" I cried.

Tori nodded. "Sin is his armor. It protects him."

"Yu Yevon was once a Summoner, a long time ago." Wakka told us grimly. "He was peerless, but now he lives for one purpose, only to Summon. He is neither good nor evil. He is awake, yet he dreams. But...maybe not forever."

"Yeah, that's right. Because we're ending it!" I agreed.

Wakka nodded. "Yes. Even if you defeat Sin with the Final Summoning, Yu Yevon will live. Yu Yevon will join with the Final Aeon. He will transform it into a new Sin. Yu Yevon merges with the Aeon...Then, protected by this new Sin he has created, he will continue to Summon."

That made me think back to Mt. Gagazet. The large pillar of water, with all those Fayth. I finally understood. Yu Yevon, or Sin, was the one using them. The one doing the massive Summoning.

"For eternity, huh?" I asked hesitantly as I thought.

"But you know, there is no such thing as eternity, if you end it, is there?"

"Uh-huh." I muttered.

Wakka sighed. "Yu Yevon lives inside Sin. Tori, listen. When you fight Yu Yevon, we will help you. Promise me you'll Summon us. I'm afraid your weapons and magic won't be enough. Please, call us. Promise?"

Tori frowned in confusion. "Yes." she answered with a nod.

Though she might've been confused, I knew exactly what they were saying. I knew all along that the Fayth, the Aeons, were closely tied to Sin. I also knew what we'd have to do to beat Yu Yevon, to keep him from merging with another Fayth.

"But you know...When it is all over, we will wake, and our dream will end. Our dream will vanish."

Now it was my turn to frown. Part of me knew he was addressing me, but I didn't understand how. I knew i wasn't a dream, so what did he mean?

"I'm sorry." Wakka said with a bow.

With that, he vanished, leaving us alone in the Chamber.

"But...what do our Ranger powers have to do with it?" Tori asked the statue in confusion.

I sighed. "We'll need the power boost when we're done with Yu Yevon."

She looked at me in confusion and I shook my head.

"Nevermind. We should get going."

"Wait! What did you mean?" Tori was almost glaring at me, demanding that I answer her.

I shook my head again. "Nothing."

"You're a bad liar, you know?" she put in as I turned and walked away.

We went back to the courtroom to find the others waiting, and walked up to them just as Ashley ran into the room, panting.

"Im afraid the Grand Maester is no where to be found." she stated apologetically as she bowed.

I shrugged. "It's cool. We're just leaving anyways."

"Oh. I see." she said, disappointed.

Dustin perked up then. "Hey! maybe she can help us with the Hymn!"

I looked at him and nodded with a grin, glad for something to take my mind off what was coming, and the idea that Tori was pissed that I wasn't telling her the whole truth. "Hey, good idea!"

Turning to Ashley, Dustin nodded. "It's like, we need you to tell as many people as you can."

"What should I tell them?" she asked in confusion.

Grinning, Dustin struck a dramatic pose. "A ship in the sky will sing the Hymn of the Fayth. When they hear it, we need everyone to sing along!"

Shane nodded. "Everyone in Spira!"

"I'm not sure I understand." Ashley said with a sigh.

"You don't have to! Just tell everyone!" Dustin insisted, beginning to get a little annoyed.

"A ship in the sky will sing the Hymn of the Fayth? So if they hear it, they should sing along?" she repeated, making sure she got it right.

I nodded, giving her a grin. "If they do, we might be able to defeat Sin."

"Truly?" she questioned with a shocked gasp.

Tori nodded with a smile. "Yes!"

"That's wonderful!" she cheered. "You can count on me! I'll tell everyone!"

With that, we left the courtroom and went back to the glowing sphere as Dustin called the airship to pick us up. We knew the final battle would be starting soon, and I could see a mixture of fear, sadness, happiness, anger and excitement on everyone's faces, but the one thing that surged above all that...confusion. They were still confused as to what was going to happen, and I think...I was the only one that knew.

(Airship)

The time of the final battle was drawing near. On the bridge of the airship, Tori paced while Hunter watched her from a nearby wall. Shane stood next to Dust, both looking worried and excited at the same time. Cam was no where to be seen, but I knew he'd be in the next room, relaxing with what little time we had left, and I stood nervously, wanting to pace, but also not being able to move.

I was lost in my thoughts...again. I remembered everything that happened when I was first brought to Spira. How I felt alone and hated it, how I wished someone lese was here with me. I didn't realize it until now, but I was really regretting my wish.

Because of me, I'd dragged Tori into this battle. At least, that's how I saw it. I knew she wasn't brought here because of me, but I still felt bad that she had to go through all this. Journeying through Spira to get Aeons, witnessing a mass suicide due to the Maesters of Yevon. Tori almost had to marry Lothor, we found out Yevon was lying to all of Spira.

Sure, there were some good times that I wouldn't trade for the world, but at the same time, I still wished this had all been avoided.

"Well, this is it, huh?" Cid asked in a nervous tone.

I nodded. "Yu Yevon's hiding somewhere inside Sin, and we're gonna find him!"

"Well, that sounds pretty simple." he stated uneasily.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Simple is the way you like it, right?"

He nodded. "You got that right." he muttered, but he still didn't sound convinced.

A large part of me wished I could do this on my own. Actually, I wished we didn't have to involve this airship or anyone on it. I knew he'd let off a lot of people, making sure they were safe, but there were still too many civilians going into the battle field for my liking.

Kimberly had been let off in Kilika, where she met up with an extatic Tommy. It was a little funny to watch her try to pry him off her leg, and then give up, limping off with him being dragged behind her.

She'd wished us heartfelt luck with our upcoming battle, and I know I saw concern in her eyes as she walked away.

Then, there was Billy. We met him in the Calm Lands when Cid let off a bunch of Al Bhed, and he apologized profusely for attacking us back in Bevelle. He'd insisted he hadn't known any better, and gone on about our courage, trying to fight Sin even though Bevelle had turned it's back on us.

He was reunited with Jason and Rocky who wouldn't let him out of their sight, and seemed a little more at peace, since he wasn't journeying anymore. He'd even joked about losing the race to fight Sin, but not surprisingly, any laughs it got, were fake. The tension was just too high right now to laugh or smile without having to force it.

Andros had been let off in Macalania and ran across Ashley who, though there were rumors going around and he was Al Bhed, was more than happy to have company travelling.

I couldv'e sworn it was instant love or something but chose to remain silent. Though it was good to see two people fall in love, it reminded me of my own love. Of Tori. And this upcoming battle scared me. I didn't know what I'd do if I lost her.

We ran across Taylor, Alyssa and Cole. They'd all had chocobos this time, and Cole looked really relieved to not have to walk or run anymore. They wished us luck as well, telling us they heard about the idea of singing the Hymn and promising to sing the loudest.

Justin followed behind them, also promising to sing along. It surprised me just how seriously a young boy would take this, but then, in a world like this, I guessed that nothing should surprise me by now.

Tori chose to remain polite or silent through all of this, shooting my questioning gazes. I felt bad for not filling her in, but I knew that when the time came, she'd know what to do, and maybe, she'd realize why I couldn't tell her.

Also, a part of me was excited to get this over with, but also...sad. I knew we'd beat him, and I knew I'd go home, but I felt that in a strange way, this place had become a second home. Though these people weren't my friends from home, they accepted me and became my friends here, and Hunter had become a second brother. It would be painful to leave them behind, but at the same time, I looked forward to going home and telling the others everything that happened. I even planned to try my magic, seeing if I could still cast spells on a different planet.

Yeah, I'd had a brief talk with Hunter and he taught me how to cast ice and water spells. Tori had come in on us and immediately joined in, seeming happy to have a chance to forget the upcoming battle, and taught me cure and life spells.

Imagine my disappointment to find out that though they were called 'life' spells, they only worked to revive knocked out people, not the dead. Still, it was cool to know, and it felt good to be able to relax a bit.

"Pops! We're counting on you!" Dustin chirped excitedly.

Cid nodded in determination. "Right. Got you covered." he stated as he walked to a control panel and hit a few buttons. Soon, the Hymn of the Fayth was blasting through the ship and undoubtedly, outside as well. "How's that?"

"Right on!" Dustin cheered as he clapped excitedly.

"A singing ship in the sky." Hunter stated with a sad smile.

Shane nodded. "Hope everyone got the message."

Tori shook her head and walked off the bridge. I frowned, knowing something was wrong, and followed her, finding her alone on the upper dack, looking out over the calm blue sky with tears falling down her face.

"Hey." I said quietly as I walked up to her.

She turned to look at me and burst out crying. Walking over quickly, I gathered her into a tight hug, and held her to me. "It'll be ok." I murmured.

She shook her head violently. "I'm scared." she admitted a she sobbed. "What if...what if something happens? What if something happens to you?"

I felt my eyes widen before tears came to them. Shaking my own head, I tightened my hold on her and offered a weak laugh. "God Tor! That's what I've been saying to myself on this whole journey. What if something happened to her?" Frowning as I looked out the window, I sighed. "Well, I'm not gonna _let_ anything happen, you hear me?"

She nodded hesitantly. "But...why won't you tell me what you know?"

Sighing, I rubbed her back. "Because when the time comes, you'll know too. I know it'll just make you think a lot and distract you."

Tori pulled back and looked into my eyes. "Is it...is it really that bad?"

I winced knowing that in her opinion, and mine, it was. I opened my mouth to say something, though not knowing what, when Brother's voice carried through the whole ship via the com.

"SIN!"

In a strange way, I was almost glad to hear that word. As much as I dreaded the battle, at the same time, I knew it saved me from having to explain what I knew...for now.

I pulled back from Tori just enough to give her a chaste kiss and smile at her. "Everything'll be alright. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." I vowed.

"But..."

Sighing, I knew what she was going to ask and shook my head as I took her hand and leade her back to the bridge. "You're gonna find out soon enough." I said in a tone that clearly stated I wasn't going to say any more about it.

She nodded slowly and we headed back inside to the bridge. There we found everyone looking out the window, seeing the large creature that was Sin. Out of water, he still reminded me of a whale, only he had clawed legs as well.

"All right!" I said loudly as we walked up to the others. "We're going in!"

"How we gonna get inside?" Shane asked me.

I gave him a crooked grin. "How else?"

Dustin shook his head. "Figures." he muttered.

"Well?" Hunter stated, looking at everyone. "Let's go!"

Cid raised his hand. "Wait! How you planning on getting inside?"

I smirked as the others all turned to look at him. "If we can't go in the mouth, we'll rip open a new one! You with me?"

"Now _that's_ what I call a plan!" he cheered as he grinned.

"Vydran! E ghuf fryd du ica! (Father! I know what to use!)" Brother cried.

Cid turned to look at him and nodded as an enlightened look came over his face. "Aha! Of course!"

Raising an eyebrow, I nodded slight. "Of course." I muttered, not really knowing what they were talking about.

"All right! We'll give this thing a new blow hole! All you gotta do is jump!" Cid cried.

"Roger!" I confirmed with another nod.

"I won't tell ya to be careful. Do your worst kiddo!"

Raising an eyebrow, I wondered why he'd taken to calling _me_ kiddo. With a little shake of my head, I sighed. "Got it!"

"Fryd! (Wait!)" Brother called turning in his seat to look at me. Once our eyes met, he bowed slightly and spoke in heavily accented, broken Spiran. "Dustin...you guard."

I nodded to him. "Will do."

Running after the others, we all climbed in the elevator and made our way up onto the outer deck, knowing one of our toughest battles yet waited for us. As I looked to Tori, who stood beside me, she offered me a weak smile before taking my hand and squeezing it.

As the elevator doors opened, we rushed out onto the deck and got ready for battle. "Let's do this!" being the only words spoken.

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Well there you have it...they're coming up to the final Battle...let me know what you think?

I might take a while to update the next chapter...I'm trying to help my friend deal with relationship problems...Sorry everyone.

I hope you like it.

R+R please.

Thank you for all your patience and encouragement.

Tenshi.


	38. Battling Sin

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : So I plan to try a sequel. I've already got some of the characters figured out.

**OB1follower**/**ThunderBrosRule27** : Thank you. I plan to have personal interactions between Hunter and Blake back on earth, and give some thoughts from each of the earth Rangers on everything that's happened. Beginning from when Blake and Tori disappeared, to...well, I'm not sure about exactly how this is going to end yet. Still, There will be brotherly interaction and stuff for sure.

**Pinklen98** : Thank you. :) Yes, there will be plenty more Tori/Blake...and possibly more romance as well...we'll have to see, but _definitely_ more Tori/Blake...and no more Lothor in my sequel:)

**JuseaPeterson** : Thank you, thank you, thank you:) I hate sad endings as much as you, but it helps with a sequel. Again, we'll see. The more I think on it, the more ideas I get.

Anyone have any ideas why Tori would be travelling? In X-2 it was because Yuna was looking for Tidus, but since Blake will be with Tori, any other ideas? It has to do with seeing a man in a sphere that sparked her need to find him. Thave to somehow be really close to her, and _can't_ be one of the Rangers previously mentioned in this fic.

I'm thinking of it being Trent...that maybe he resembled her adopted little brother (where did I get that from? LOL) or something, who disappeared a long time ago. Or maybe Zhane...Spiran Tori's long lost older brother.

Thanks. :)

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(Battling Sin)

As we ran out, Dustin grinned into the blue sky above us. "I can hear the song!" he cried.

"Yes." Hunter agreed with a nod. "I can hear the Hymn as well."

I was sure we could all hear it. Though the song radiated from the ship in heavenly voices, it paled into comparison to the chorus of voices echoing up from all of Spira. Apparently, Ashley had gotten that message out well. All of Spira was singing the Hymn for us.

"They listened to us!" Dustin said with a small laugh and a truly hopeful look in his eyes for the first time ever.

"We won't let them down!" I cried. Turning to Tori, I pulled her aside and frowned. "Tori, you won't be needing this anymore, I guess." I said as I pulled out her sphere.

She gasped and put a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in shock. "But..." Her face turned a brilliant red as she slowly looked into my eyes. "How much...? Did you...?"

Nodding slowly, I gave her a small smile. "I watched it. But..." Pulling back, I turned to the edge of the ship. "You're not gonna die, so you don't need it anymore...right?" Turning, I saw her look uncertain before she tilted her head a bit. "Right?" I repeated. Shaking my head, I turned and threw the sphere over the edge of the ship before going back over to her. I pulled her into a tight hug and rested my forehead against hers. "And to answer your question... I do." I finished with a chaste kiss.

Tori's face burned an even deeper red, but she readily returned the kiss.

Suddenly, the ship began shaking violently and we were forced to pull apart and hang on for dear life.

"Hey, guy? Guys? That's not good, ya!" Shane called from his crouched position on the deck.

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. "No shit sherlock." I mutered under my breath.

We all turned, hearing an eerie cry that sounded less than human, and found Sin a good ways away. A large ball of dark energy formed around what I guessed was it's mouth, and shot out into eight beams, each going off in a different direction. The beams cut through the earth and water neatly and the resulting backlash came rushing at the airship, causing us all to let out startled and worried cries as we ran towards the elevator and fell to lie low on the deck.

Once the backlash faded, I looked up to find myself staring into one of the multiple eyes of a now much closer Sin, and frowned. "Damn you, old man." I muttered angrily as I moved and slowly stood.

I watched as the others all got shakily to their feet and we turned to stare at the cause of Spira's suffering as it floated, almost peacefully, in front of us.

Suddenly, Cid's voice rang out over the loudspeaker, ringing with excitement. "Hey! I saw somethin' shine on the base of Sin's arm! I reckon it's a weak point!" he called.

In other words, we'd just found a place to begin our assault.

The ship began to shake again as Sin turned sideways and began to slowly move, and Brother's worried voice rang out next. "Cred! (Shit!)"

"Fryd, fryd? (What, what?)"

"Fa yna bimmat po Sin! (We are pulled by Sin!)"

Dustin gasped and looked at us all with wide eyes. "Sin's pulling us in!" he cried.

The airship began to turn as well, flying alongside Sin's arm, and we found ourselves in a perfect position to attack it. It was a good thing I was a Summoner as well as Tori, and that Cam had his Tornado attack, because Sin was far enough away to make short ranged attacks futile.

"Everyone, back inside!" Cid called urgently.

"Duu myda! Ed lusac! (Too late! It comes!)" Brother shot back as the ship shook a little once more.

"Everyone, concentrate on the joint!" Cam called out, pointing to the 'shiny' spot Cid had mentioned.

As we attacked, we found that though the joint was difficult to damage, Sin wasn't able to do much damage to us in our position. Luckily, Cam learned a spell to enhance his attacks and weaken the armored skin. It was called Armor Break, and with one hit, our attacks were doing a lot more damage.

Tori and I didn't even need to call out any Aeons for this fight, as the others were able to cut through in no time, causing the leg to hang limply by Sin's side.

"We got it!" I called to Cid, remembering that it was up to him to do the last bit.

The airship moved slowly away, though not much because somehow, Sin was keeping the airship pulled towards it's body at all times. Once we got a few feet away, he fired a barrage of missiles at the joint, causing Sin to let out a pained groan that made me wince, and the now severed leg fell to the ground below, fading into pyrelifes as it went.

"Got it!" Dustin cried happily as he bounced a little in excitement.

"Couldn't have done it without you! All right! Everyone, look sharp! Time to hit the other side!" Cid cried as the airship moved higher to fly over Sin's back, right behind the tall fin, and crossed over to the opposite leg.

"Easy for you to say!" Dustin grumbled as he rubbed his arms.

Sighing, we attacked the other joint together. I used thunder spells and combined them with Hunter's. Cam used his Tornado attack, after armor breaking it, thank God Andros had let us restock on sake for it, and Shane used his spiked blitzball. Tori stayed behind and cast protective magics on us, wanting to use a new spell she'd learned, but also letting us handle it.

Sin's leg reared back and shot out, but we managed to avoid the swing. Dustin teetered close to the edge of the ship, but Tori grabbed his arm and pulled him back and Shane steadied him.

Catching Hunter's eyes, I noticed he was about to do another barrage of magic attacks, and by the way he was glowing yellow, I knew it was thunaga, so I joined him. I kept my energies charged as I cast each spell, and combined my thunaga spells with his.

Soon enough, the second leg fell limply to the side and the ship moved away so that Cid could fire the missiles. As the leg fell, I began to grow more worried. It was getting closer to the point where we'd have to fight and beat Sin once and for all, then move on to Yu Yevon.

"Yeehaw! Where next?" Cid cried over the speaker.

Brother's subdued voice spoke up, worrying us all as we listened. "Ed ec ujan. (It is over.)"

Cid didn't seem to take whatever this news was, too well. "Fryd? Fa ryja uhmo pakih! (What? We have only begun!)" he shouted angrily.

"Pid dra syeh kih, ed ec pnugah! (But the main gun, it is broken!)" Brother shot back in despair.

"Dr-Dryd? lyhhud pa! (Th-That cannot be!)" Cid cried in disbelief.

Dustin looked worried and turned to the rest of us. "The main gun's busted!"

"Damn it! All right, back inside! Time for another plan!"

I shook my head. _Not now, not when we're so close!_ I thought as I moved to the edge of the deck. We couldn't retreat now! If we did, we'd never get another chance. "No!" I cried as I shook my head. I for one was _not_ about to give up! "We're going in!"

Shane nodded. "Every blitzer knows, when you got the ball, you gotta score, ya!" he agreed.

"Let's go!" Tori agreed, coming to stand beside me, her staff strapped to her back.

Dustin nodded and joined us. "Let's do this!"

Hunter offered a dry chuckle and raised an eyebrow at me as he moved to stand on my other side. "A day with you is never dull." he said in amusement.

Again, I swear I could almost _hear_ the hidden 'bro' in there.

Cam snorted and moved to stand beside Hunter. "Foolhardy." he stated with a shake of his head. Then he grinned. "But a fun plan."

With a determined nod, we all jumped onto Sin's back, scaling the...errm...scales. Making it to the middle of it's back, we found a core behind it's fin. It seemed to be the main power source for Sin himself, and that made it our next target.

What made this battle more difficult, was the awaiting Sinspawn that guarded the core.

"Another one?" Shane spat incredulously.

Dustin shook his head with a glare at it. "Cred! (Shit!)" he cursed as he got ready for the fight.

Indeed, it was just like the one we fought back in Kilika, with the shelled body and tentacles. This time, however, there were only two tentacles to deal with. I would've thought that was a good thing, if not for the more powerful firaga spells it was casting at us.

"Hunter! It's still weak against fire! Use your fire spells on it! Blake, Shane and Dustin, you'll help me take out the tentacles, and Tori, make sure Hunter's all right!" Cam ordered as we broke off into our groups.

Hunter and Tori stayed where they were, going after the main body of the Sinspawn. Dustin and Shane took the right tentacle and Cam and I took the left.

Cam and I charged forward together, attacking as one. As Cam swung at the monster, I jumped on his blade after he hit it and used it for a boost to get higher. Spinning around in the air, I sliced the top of the tentacle twice, and did a flip as I fell, slicing it down the center. As I landed in a crouch, I noticed the tentacle collapse and fade away, and turned to join Hunter and Tori.

Shane threw his spiked blitzball at the top of the tentacle as Dust raced forward and swiped three elixers from it. Jumping back, he reached into his pouch and grabbed a grenade and fire gem, mixing them together and throwing the new item at the tentacle, taking it out as well.

"Just this freak left!" I called as we got ready.

The shell broke open, revealing a somewhat decayed plant fiend inside and those of us who could use magic, focused on fire spells to severely weaken it. Dustin threw more of those fire bombs at it while Cam swung away and Shane strangely, charged his blitzball with fire energy.

Raising an eyebrow, I watched as the flaming ball hit the fiend and turned to Shane with what I knew must've been a 'what the hell?' look.

Shrugging slightly, he gave me a sheepish smile. "Can't do that often ya. Just a new trick." he explained quickly.

Nodding, I turned back to the battle and attacked with another navy fire spell as Hunter attacked in sync with a powerful firaga spell, finishing off the fiend and leaving us facing a totally vulnerable core.

It hit me then, for a while now, Hunter and I had been able to attack in sync, casting the same spells at the same time. I found it somewhat strange, but also comforting. It let me know that even in a strange world, and meeting him as a new person, we still had that connection.

We attacked the core in tandem, taking it out in no time, and when Sin began to shake violently, we knew we'd accomplished our job. We ran to the side of the huge beast, and saw the airship below. I turned to Tori and took her hand before we all jumped, and when we landed, we immediately rushed inside and to the bridge.

Upon arrival, we watched as Sin fell to the ground, landing just outside of Bevelle and laying there unmoving.

The Al Bhed began to cheer, thinking it was the end of Sin, but with a concerned look to all of my friends, I knew...It was far from over.

In fact, our battle had only just begun.

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A shorter chapter, sorry about that. There's still more to come.

**NOTE** : I realize a lot of people want to see a happy ending, so I am working on both. I will post the happy ending first, followed by the alternate, sad ending and the preview for the sequel. This way...I don't have to chose between a much preferred happy ending, and a sad ending to start off the sequel.

I hope you all liked this.

R+R please.

Thank you everyone. :)

Tenshi.


	39. Inside Sin Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : The end is approaching. The final Battle comes, and I have to make both endings. Sorry for the wait...I've been really busy, but I've made time to work on these chapters for everyone.

Yes, I am making both endings. The happy ending will be posted first, followed by the sad ending and a epilogue and preview to the sequel. Hmmm...I guessed fairly right...this story was between 40 and 50 chapters.

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(Inside Sin Part 1)

"Vydran! E lyhhud pameaja fryd E caa! (Father! I cannot believe what I see!)" Brother cried, disblieving as Sin lay motionless just outside of Bevelle.

Cid nodded slowly as a huge grin split his face. "Pameaja ed, cuh! Drao'ja tuha ed! Ed ec rybbahehk! (Believe it, son! They've done it! It is happening!)" he cried happily. Turning to face us, he nodded to me and kept on grinning as he faced his younger son. "Dustin, aqlammahd! (Dustin, excellent!)"

Sighing, Tori turned to the rest of us. "It's gonna come back, huh?"

Nodding slowly, I returned the sigh and felt myself frown. "I know."

"What? You gotta be kidding me!" Cid cried angrily as he watched us. The looks on our faces must've been pretty sreious, because his shock soon faded to sadness, knowing it wasn't yet over.

"No!" I cried as I faced the older Al Bhed. "We've gotta beat the guy inside Sin."

"The Crusaders would be out of a job if it was this easy." Shane said almost sadly.

"But it _has_ weakened." Hunter said with a thoughtful frown as he faced the unmoving terror of Spira. "I'm sure of it."

Dustin nodded. "Yeah! We're winning!" he cheered as he pumped a fist into the air excitedly.

"All right. I'll do what I can with the main gun." Cid agreed, volunteering to help. He walked out of the bridge quickly, and a moment later, Tori followed with a frown. I wasn't sure what to do for a moment, but eventually, I gave in to my gut feeling and followed her.

I found Tori on the upper deck once again, looking out the window with quizzical eyes as she seemed to be in thought. As I approached, her eyes snapped to me and she nodded a little, letting me know it was all right for me to be there.

"I wonder...if Jecht's in pain." she said softly.

Raising an eyebrow, I folded my arms over my chest. "He got pretty worked." _Hell, he lost two legs!_ Sighing, I shook my head. "Let's just end this...quickly. The Fayth said they'd help us, right?"

That made her frown deepen. "It bothers me...the way he said that."

"Uh...huh?" I put in intelligently.

Tori sighed and turned towards me. "I mean, they've been helping us all along, for about a thousand years, but..._now_ they say they'll help?"

_Probably because we're the key players and we're here now._ I thought to myself. It made sense when I thought about it. Before, for a thousand years, like Tori said, things had been the same. But since we came to this world, we challenged the religion, finding out it was all lies, and we have our Ranger powers as a bonus. "I guess so..." I mumbled hesitantly. I knew...I knew she was close to figuring out the secret to beat Yevon.

I knew she was close to figuring out what I'd held back from her.

"Wait!" Her eyes suddenly widened and a look of horror passed over her face.

_Bingo._ I thought sadly, knowing she'd just figured it out.

"Sin is reborn when Yevon merges with an Aeon, isn't that right?" She didn't even wait for a nod she already knew was coming, but continued. "If I Summon an Aeon, Yu Yevon will join with it, but at first, it will only be small, won't it?"

"Yeah...Then we might be able to defeat Sin without the Final Summoning." Meaning, we'd have to kill the Aeons.

You couldn't imagine how much that thought hurt me. They'd become friends who willingly helped us in battles, and in return, we'd end up killing them. Didn't seem very fair, did it?

"I don't know..." she said hesitantly. "What if Yu Yevon jumps again?"

_Sadly, that's simple._ "Then we'll have to take it down again. We'll have to keep going until there's no place left for it to hide."

"I never thought...it'd come down to this." Her eyes brimmed with tears. "When I first came to this world, I knew my fate was to die saving Spira from Sin. It took a long time, but I accepted it. Now, I get to live, only by killing our friends. It's...just not fair!" she cried as she banged her fist on the metal panel on the side of the window.

_Trust me, I know._ I thought sadly as I watched her, feeling helpless. This was the very reason I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I knew it'd cause her pain. "Yeah, I know. Hey, the Fayth, they're tired of all this too. Let's let them rest." I tried to encourage her.

She got another thoughtful look on her face. "The Fayth said it's pointless to keep dreaming. The dream will disappear he said. What did he mean? And what's Yu Yevon Summoning from deep within Sin?"

I didn't know the answer to the second one, but I sure knew the answer to the first. Dream Zanarkand, the other me, the thousands of people living there, they'd all fade away.

"Tori! Guys! Come quick! Something's happening to Sin!" Dustin's voice called out over the loudspeaker. Exchanging a 'what the hell?' look with Tori who simply mirrored it, we ran back to the bridge, entering to find everyone staring at the now moving body of Sin.

The body of Sin rose up from the ground, sprouting a large set of wings that eerily reminded me of a dragonfly's wings. Floating over to the tallest tower in Bevelle, it percked on top daintily and stopped moving. With a slight wince, I recognized that tower as the one Tori had jumped off of on her wedding day.

"Jecht..." Cam said, catching everyone's attention. He looked me in the eyes with a sad look. "He's waiting for you."

Because...I was a different version of his son. He'd see me as his crybaby kid he left behind in Zanarkand, and to give him peace, I was to play the part of a boy who grew up resenting his father for leaving his mother and him.

_I HATE YOU!_

The words, in my voice, yet not mine, resounded through my head angrily, almost making me wince with the power behind them.

_I'll forgive you this time, old man. Try to stay out of trouble._

_Sin's my old man. My old man became Sin! He's the reason for Spira's suffering. I'm...sorry._

Sadness and hatred, swirling around. It made me slightly dizzy. Even not being the Blake from Spira's ancient Zanarkand, I felt his emotions and knew that on some strange level, we were connected. He grew up hating his father, only to find out he wasn't the man he imagined. Slowly but surely, the hatred turned to sadness and love. And lucky me...it was up to me to portray those feelings.

Meaning, it was my turn to do some acting.

I just hoped, Spiran Blake would be there to help. I didn't think I could face my father, even if he wasn't _my_ father, and tell him I hated him, and meaning it.

"Well son, the main gun's still busted." Cid said in worry, guilt lying behind his eyes. "We can't give you any cover fire."

I shrugged and decided to begin acting like the cockier Spiran version of myself. "Hey, just take us in. We'll handle the rest." I said with a nod.

"All right. Take us up!" he ordered Brother. "Flush to the mouth! No mistakes, or I'm gonna tear out that mop you call hair!"

After patting his mowhawk slightly, Brother nodded and turned back to look at us. "Trust...me." He said in broken, heavily accented Spiran. It made me wonder why he'd suddenly taken the urge to speak in a language he obviously wasn't confortable speaking in. "Me...take you there. No problem...ya?"

I raised an eyebrow and turned to Shane who was grinning away. Shaking my head with a grin, I turned back and sighed as I became serious. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Hunter agreed.

Cam sighed. "My story must end as well."

That brought looks of confusion to everyone's faces and a pang of hurt to float through my body. It reminded me that, once Sin and Yu Yevon were gone for good, Cam would go to the Farplane. It also reminded me that I was the only one that knew he was unsent.

Dustin shook his head with a suspicious glare at Cam before turning to me. "Don't worry! I'll cover you!"

"Time to show them what we're made of, ya?" Shane agreed.

Tori sighed and got a look of utter determination on her face. "Our father's wishes...Let's make them come true!" she cried.

"Here we go!" Cid cried as the ship flew up to Sin's open mouth. They brought the deck in as close as they could and he turned, nodding to us to signal that it was time to go.

With a heavy heart filled with anxiety and fear, I nodded back. "I'm coming for you Jecht!"

Suddenly, the ship began to shake violently. We all turned to the screen and stared in shock as the ship got closer and cloer, slowly entering Sin's mouth.

"What the hell are ya doin'?" Cid shouted at the pilot.

Brother rambled off in Al Bhed and shook his head quickly as he typed furiously on the keyboard.

Dustin turned to us and gupled nervously. "Sin drew us in. There's no going back now."

There was a quick, bright flash, and for a split second, I could've sworn I saw a face I never wanted to see again. Blinking a moment as my vision came back, I turned to find Tori pale and shaking her head slowly. It was obvious that she saw the same thing.

The ship jolted again before it stopped moving completely, and the quiet moises of the engine died out.

"We've landed. On what, who knows? It's up to you kids to check it out." Cid informed us gruffly, not pleased at all that his prized airship was stuck inside the belly of the beast.

Heading out of the ship, we surpringly found ourselves on a misty path. I guess I didn't know what to expect, as with the rest of this world and the people and screatures on it, but I think I expected to actually see the insides of a monster. What I saw instead, was a semi-clear passage that was surrounded by mist on all sides and seemed to twist off and go on forever.

The sky was pitch black, and the ground looked to be made up of a solid surface that seemed to resemble glass, with a thin coating of crystal clear water running over it. Nearby, the sounds of waterfalls were heard, and the mist gave off a faint, light purple light that allowed us to see surprisingly clearly.

I knew it was time. Jecht was here, somewhere, and would be able to see and hear me. It was time to don my act. "Dad!" I cried, ignoring the confused looks everyone gave me. I faintly heard Cam whispering to them that I had to do this and to just accept it, and mentally thanked him, seeing as how I hadn't had the foresight to tell them myself. "Where are you?" I called, strangely, hoping for a response.

There was none, but for the groaning of Sin's body and the occassional, faint tremble.

"We must go to him." Cam told me quietly.

I nodded to him and shifted uneasily. "Then we will. Let me take front."

Tori nodded and stepped back, giving me a sympathetic smile. "Good luck." she almost whispered.

With another nod, I sighed. "Follow me!" I told them as I raced down the blind path, grabbing and holding my blade and holding it tightly, knowing there were fiends here. Suddenly, a large floating eyeball flew at me quickly, screetching loudly, but a blast of lightning hit it, knocking it down and turning it to pyreflies. I shot a grateful look over my shoulder, to Hunter who nodded with a half smirk on his face.

It was fairly warm in there, and felt myself beginning to sweat and tire from all the running, but kept going anyways. Soon, we made it to a tall flight of stairs with a glowing blue sphere beside it. We took turns touching the sphere to regain our strength, and looked up at the stairs.

I wasn't sure about anyone else, but I got an ominous feeling from up there, and I swallowed heavily, feeling anger bubbling up inside me.

Feeling something brush against my arm, I turned to find Tori standing by my side. She gave me a weak smile and took my hand lightly, giving it a soft squeeze.

Slowly, we climbed the stairs, dreading what we fould find at the top. As we neared the top, we heard the sound of movement and froze for a moment as we armed ourselves. When we finally reached the large platform at the top of the stairs, we could only stare in anger and shock at what met us.

I snarled and took a menacing step foward. "Don't you _ever_ give up?"

He simply chuckled and shook his head. "Sin has chosen me. I am a part of Sin. I am one with Sin, forever. Immortal!" he cried as his body changed and decayed, floating in the air as a gigantic wheel with four elemental points on it appeared behind him.

Snorting, I shook my head. "Sin just absorbed you." I muttered.

"Lothor..." Tori grumbled as she glared warily at him.

Shrugging his arms, Lothor smirked. "I will learn to control it, from within. I have all the time in the world. Since you were gracious enough to dispose of Victoria...the only means of forever destroying Sin is gone! Now nothing can stop us!"

_That's what you think._ I thought with a mental smirk. "Well, we can!"

"By all means, try! You should thank me! Your death means your father's life!" he cried as his body merged with the giant wheel and the four elemental points began to spin slowly.

I felt my eyes widen a little. So he seemed to think Jecht was _my_ father as well. I wasn't sure how to play this to my advantage, but decided to keep up my act. "What do _you_ know?" I yelled back as we got ready for battle.

"He's immune to elemental magics!" Cam called angrily. "Focus on your weapons!"

Turning to Hunter who looked left out, I grinned. "Don't think you're getting out of this!" I called to him. "Remember your non-elemental spells!"

He perked up instantly and began charging an ultima spell. That was my bro for you. He absolutely _had_ to be part of the fight!

I turned back to Lothor and noticed Tori looking confused. Catching her eye, I knew she wanted to Summon an Aeon. To be honest, so did I. I wanted to Summon every Aeon we had in our arsenal and let them pick Lothor apart, but for now, if he was immune to elemental magics, then we should stick with weapons.

_Weapons_...

That gave me an idea and I felt an evil grin on my face as I walked calmly over to Tori. "Why don't we let him in on what else we can do?" I asked calmly.

She looked a little confused for a moment before her eyes widened and a matching evil grin crossed her face as she nodded.

Turning back to Lothor, I laughed and whistled, stopping the battle. Turning to Tori, we exchanged nods and faced forward. "Ready!" I called, bringing my wrist in front of me.

Tori copied my pose. "Ready!" she mimicked with determination.

"Ninja Storm!" she called.

"Thunder Storm!" I followed.

"Ranger Form! HA!" we finished together as we morphed.

"Power of Thunder!" I called as I took my pose.

Tori followed me, taking her own pose. "Power of Water!"

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho!" Shane cried as he blinked his wide eyes.

Dustin's jaw dropped as he stared at us. "Holy son-of-a-shoopuf!" he cried.

Hunter smirked, having either seen one or the other of us in our uniforms before, and Cam didn't look the slightest bit startled, but he did look pleased.

"What is this!?" Lothor cried.

"Ninja Ranger Power!" we called in unison. Stepping forward, I grabbed my Navy Antler. "Powers from another world!" I yelled as I blasted him with my antler, bringing a shocked and pained cry from him.

"Ninja Lasers!" Tori cried, shooting lasers from her morpher and hitting Lothor hard. "You don't stand a chance!"

The others nodded and returned to the battle. Shane hit Lothor in the head with his blitzball as Cam slised him in the midsection, and Hunter ast another ultima spell.

With our Ranger powers added to the mix, he didn't stand a chance and slowly collapsed to the ground, taking on his normal form again.

"No!"

"Now, Tori! Send him!" Shane cried.

She nodded and powered down, slowly approaching the fallen enemy as she began to dance.

"So it is you, after all, who will send me." Lothor said in a defeated tone as his body flickered and slowly began to fade away. "But even after I am gone, Spira's sorrow will prevail."

With those last words, he finally faded away forever, going to the Farplane to rest in peace, and hopefully, cause us no more problems. Sighing, I powered down, and looked to where he had been laying. "Sin will be right behind you." I muttered.

With no lingering gazes, we turned and kept walking soon, finding ourselves in what appeared to be a ruined blitzball stadium overlooking the ruins of Zanarkand. What surprised me, was the man waiting there for us.

The Spiran version of my father. The Aeon that became Sin, in human form.

Jecht.

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I don't know what all to say. Next chapter begins the final battle.

Blake will probably be OOC due to his acting, so just a heads up.

I hope you liked this fic so far.

R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	40. Inside Sin Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Next chapter _should_ be the last battle and the happy ending. And the chapter after _should_ be the alternate, sad ending with the preview to the sequel.

Still trying to decide between Trent and Kira, or Zhane and Karone.

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(Inside Sin Continued)

Facing this man, I felt a strange feeling overwhelm me. It was such sadness with remaining hints of anger. It confused me and kind of scared me a bit, but I knew that somehow, Spiran Blake was there with me. He was seeing what I saw, his father become the suffering of a whole planet. I think, he also knew what was coming and it scared him too.

"You're late, Cam." Jecht said slowly as he stood by the edge of the huge platform, at least a mile above the ruined city.

Cam sighed and nodded, a great sadness crossing his face. "I know." he said quietly.

Slowly turning his head, Jecht looked straight at me, and I felt the feeling inside me grow even stronger at the piercing gaze of his black eyes. "Hey." he said lowly, an akward look passing over his face.

I nodded in return. "Hi."

"Hah! You got tall, but you're all bones! You eatin' right, boy?" With a sigh, he shook his head, and I noticed a sadness and longing cross over his face. "You've really grown."

"Yeah, but I _am_ Sin you know." he said with a crooked smirk, that I think everyone could tell was forced.

I frowned as I glared at him, anger surging through me. How could he joke about that at a time like this? "That's not funny!" I spat as I felt tears come to my eyes.

He straightened up a bit at the sound of my voice, before slumping once again. "Well, then...I mean...you know. Let's end this." His tone was resigned, and I wished that there was something I could do to keep Spira's Blake from losing his father too, but I knew there was no choice.

Still...It didn't stop Spiran Blake from speaking through me. I knew it was him, because the words that came out of my mouth, certainly weren't mine. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate you." It wasn't said with conviction, or with any emotion at all, but sadness, and I knew that Jecht knew better.

He sighed again, not looking up, but I could feel the pain radiating off of him. "I know, I know. You know what you have to do."

Nodding slowly, I swallowed heavily, fighting not to cry. I was overwhelmed with emotions that were mine and not mine alike, as well as knowing what had to happen. So much death, we'd have to cause so much death to save Spira.

The Crusaders in Operation Mi'ihen died because we didn't know well enough to warn them it was a trap.

Lothor died...ok, well he deserved it.

Now I had to fight an alternate version of my father, killing him to stop Sin.

Then, we'd have to fight and kill the Aeons to keep Yu Yevon from bonding with them.

Feeling tears fall down my face, I heard Jeht sigh and knew that he was reminded of his crybaby son. At that point in time, I didn't care. I felt swept away by everything that was going on, lost in the tide.

"I can't hear the Hymn so well no more." Jecht said in a soft voice. "Pretty soon...I'll be Sin. Completely. I'm glad you're here now. One thing, though...Once it starts, I won't be myself anymore. I won't be able to hold myself back." He hesitated and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry."

"That's enough!" I yelled, feeling more tears fall. I knew the others were watching, probably totally confused, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. "Let's finish this, ok?" I finished in a softer voice as I looked at the ground.

He gave a crooked smile and nodded, taking a step back. "You're right. Well then...let's go!" he cried as a light formed on his chest. He stumbled back to the very edge of the platform and shook his head.

"No..." I whispered. Running towards him, I reached out, trying to catch him from falling. "NO!" I screamed, catching hold of nothing but air as he slipped away and plunged to the ground below.

Backing up, I felt the platform begin to shake and stumbled as I made my way back to the rest of the group. I turned my head and caught Tori's eyes and tearstained face. She offered me a weak smile, which I was barely able to return and we armed ourselves.

A second later, and two giant, clawed hands grabbed onto the edge of the platform we stood on, raising up a huge, disfigured version of Jecht, with long white hair that seemed to form a mane, and a giant broadsword in his right hand. Two huge stony pillars rose up and floated on either side of him, twisting and turning, showing elemental seals on each side.

"Ignore the pagodas!" Cam ordered as he stepped up beside me. "Focus on the Aeon!"

Frowning, I turned to the monster we faced, realizing that this was indeed, Braska's Final Aeon. Shaking my head, I looked into the glowing red eyes that held only the tiniest hint of humanity left. "I promise this'll be quick!" I called as I faced him, seeing a barely there flash of recognization spark in his eyes, dying almost as quickly as it came. "Hit me with all you got, dad!"

I knew that Tori and I could morph, and that it would help in the battle a gret deal, but he thought I was his son, meaning, that I shouldn't have this power. So instead, I chose to fight, using my thunder blade and magic.

Tori Summoned Bahamut to attack, while healing and casting protective magics on the rest of us, as well as herself.

Hunter went right into his barrage of spells, casting one after another in rapid succession, and Shane used his blitzball, charging it with ice before tossing it forward. Dustin used his grenades, and only Cam seemed to heistate to attack Jecht.

I knew why though, this was his friend, whom he felt he failed ten years ago.

Attacking with my Blade, I noticed how Jecht was able to pull back and avoid my hit, making me realize, magics and Summons were probably the best choice right now. Putting my blade away, I clasped my hands in front of me, and followed Hunter's example as together, we cast a large and powerful barrage of firaga spells at him.

There was a pained cry, and my head spun to find Tori on her knees, grasping her bleeding side. I felt my eyes widen as I ran over to her. "Tori!" I cried, kneeling at her side. Remembering the healing spell, I placed my hands over the wound and focused, feeling the warm sensation run through my hands and into her body. The wound healed under my touch and Tori let out a sigh of relief.

"You ok?" I asked softly as I helped her to her feet.

"Yeah. Thanks." she replied. Looking over the others, she shook her head. "We're getting worked!" she groaned as she took off to heal Dustin who had been knocked out.

With a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes for a moment when a new voice called out in my head.

_**Summon me. My power is yours.**_ came a deep, solemn voice.

Opening my eyes, I noticed a single pyrefly float around my body before entering it. With a nod, I grabbed my blade and held it in front of me, closing my eyes as I focused my powers. Throwing one hand, holding the blade, towards the sky, my eyes opened as a giant hook came flying down and imbedded itself in the ground. I heard my friends gasp, but was too focused to pay attention.

The hook slowly pulled up, revealing Anima who was dragged out of the ground. The Aeon was easily 10 to 15 feet tall once we was fully raised, and there was still more buried in the ground.

"Anima! Pain!" I called.

A light shone in the Aeon's eye before it's head snapped back and a ball of light shot forth, hitting Jecht and causing him to roar in pain.

"Anima? But how?" Tori asked in confusion.

Turning to her, I shrugged. "I just heard his voice and he told me to call him."

She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate, before opening them and giving me a pout before smiling. "I don't sense him, so you're the only one who can call him."

I offered a little dramatic bow, before laughing a bit and dodging one of Jecht's attacks. "Ok, ok! I'm paying attention! Geez!" I groaned.

Tori laughed and had her Bahamut do it's Mega-flare attack, causing Jecht to slump a bit, showing how weak he was.

I followed up with another Pain attack, and Hunter followed that with Ultima.

That seemed to do it, and Jecht exploded in a bright light. When the light faded, the once again human Jecht lay panting on the ground. A large, black ball of energy left his body and floated around the inside of Sin before fading away.

I felt the pain bubble back up. Jecht...was dying. That's why, Yu Yevon abandoned the body. Without even thinking about it, I ran over to the man and knelt down, lifting his head into my lap as I felt tears flowing into my eyes. He looked up at me and winced, giving a crooked half grin that was obviously forced. "You'll cry." he said with a silent chuckle.

I felt the tears building up more, that he could say such things, joke like this, as he lay dying in my arms. He wasn't _my_ father, but seeing him there, the light slowly fading from his eyes, I felt like I was losing him all over again. I felt like the day Lothor told us Sensei Watanabi had killed our parents., only this time, it was us. Was _me_.

I felt like _I_ was dying!

"You're gonna cry." he teased.

I knew what he was doing. He was trying to distract me, maybe make me hate him so it wouldn't hurt so much, but what he didn't realize, was that he was just making me feel worse. I knew he didn't blame me, I knew no one would blame me, but I still felt guilty. I felt like I should've tried harder. I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest as this man lay in my arms, his life slowly fading away.

"You always cry." he put in with his grin weakening and a raspy breath.

I couldn't help it. I let the tears run down my face as I gasped for breath.

He laughed again. "See? You're cryin'."

"I hate you, dad." I almost whispered, again, the words not mine.

Shaking his head weakly, Jecht sighed. "Save it for later."

I felt my eyes widen, remember what we had to do. "We still have a job to do, don't we?" I murmured.

He nodded. "Good. That's right. After all, you are my son."

Inwardly, I winced. No, I wasn't, but if it helped him rest, I would play the part. "You know...for the first time, I'm glad...to have you as my father." I said, feeling strangely lighter.

He offered a grin. "Heh."

Tori took a step forward with tears running down her cheeks. "Sir Jecht...I should..."

He shook his head and managed to dredge up enough strength to sit up by himself, pushing me towards her. "No, Tori, there's no time!" he cried.

Yu Yevon made another appearance and began flying around the room. He dove towards Jecht's body a couple of times, and I swung my hands at him, warding him off. "You stay away!" I yelled angrily.

Jecht kept his eyes locked on Tori who looked so full of pain. "Tori, you know what to do. The Aeons..."

"We Aeons..." Wakka, the Fayth of Bevelle and the Fayth of Bahamut, echoed as he appeared in translucent form.

"Call them!: Jecht finished as he collapsed.

"Call us!" Wakka echoed once again as Jecht faded away into pyeflies..

I saw Tori's eyes widen as she began to gasp for air, and knew she was in a lot of pain because of what she had to do. I could see the pain in he eyes as she shakily brought her staff in front of her. Her whole body was rigid and her eyes wide, even as she prayed. Her face had gone a ghostly white and she trembled.

Walking over to stand in front of her, I took her hands in mine as I looked into her eyes. Nodding to her, I gave her a small, sad smile. "Let's do this." I murmured to her.

She nodded slowly, though the pain only magnified. "Yes." she whispered in a broken voice.

"Here it comes!" Hunter called out as everyone crowded close to Tori.

Tori closed her eyes and cast a new spell of hers on all of us. If we got knocked out, it would revive us automatically and the spell wouldn't fade until Tori cast dispel. It was called, Auto-Life.

Yu Yevon also seemed to cast a spell, as everything around us changed. We realized with a start, we were back on the upper, outside deck of the airship. Tori kept concentrating and called her first Aeon, Valefor.

_**I am sorry.**_ Yuna said sadly as Yu Yevon lowered itself into the body of the bird-like Aeon, twisting it so that the normally bright colors turned dull and the eyes that had been full of gentleness, became dead and full of maliciousness.

Getting ready for battle, I stayed near Tori and attacked with my magic. Tori used a new offensive white magic spell called Holy. Shane used his blitzball, and Cam used his Tornado attack. Hunter charged up his ultima spell but quickly cast a bio first, poisoning the Aeon to help weaken it.

With a slow shake of my head, I used a volley of thundaga spells on her. Hunter followed it up with ultima, and Cam followed it up with a Tornado attack.

Valefor didn't last long before it fell and slowly faded away, Yuna's sad voice once again reaching our ears. _**I'm so sorry.**_ Yu Yevon floated up and around the room as Valefor disappeared forever.

Tori grimaced in pain and held her staff in front of her. Closing her eyes, she sighed and opened them, Summoning Ifrit next.

Tidus seemed to sigh. _**There's no other choice.**_ he reassured us all softly as Yu Yevon posessed his aeon form.

Once again we attacked with everything we had. Ifrit caught us all by surprise, casting Hellfire on us and knocking us all out, but luckily, the Auto-Lif spell brought us all back instantaniously. We managed to finish him off without much trouble, using ice spells, and as he faded away, I could almost swear I heard him sigh in relief.

I winced in pain and noticed Tori do the same as she collapsed to her knees. It wasn't so much a physical pain, rather than an emotional one. We were killing our friends.

Raking a step up beside her, I put my blade away and focused, calling on Ixion next.

_**It's the only way**_. Rikku said sadly as the large grey unicorn landed by their side, only to be possessed by Yevon.

We attacked with water spells and our weapons. I noticed that Shane, Dustin and Hunter all looked pale and pained, knowing they had no choice, but still suffering like Tori and I. I managed to get to my feet and stayed in front of Tori, protecting her as I attacked with the others.

As Ixion collapsed, I could swear I saw a faint image of the Al Bhed blonde on her kness, crying. _**Forgive us.**_

Shaking my head, I felt the tears falling down my face as I took a deep breath and Summoned Shiva next.

_**Don't grieve for us.**_ Lulu said softly as the body of the ice goddess was taken over by Yevon.

Fire spells and null-ice were the keys to beating this battle. Tori had to revive Dustin and I had to revive Shane, but otherwise, we had little to no problem with this battle...except for the same problem we'd been having since Valefor. We felt so terribly guilty for fighting and having to kill, our friends.

Shiva faded and Yu Yevon floated up and out of the body. I hesitated a moment in calling the next Aeon as I tried to orientate myself. I knew there were only two left and it bothered me.

Feeling someone take my hands in their own, I opened my eyes and looked at Tori who was pale and crying, but was also giving me an encouraging smile. I nodded and together we Summoned Bahamut.

This battle was more difficult because Bahamut was a non-elemental Aeon, but Tori's Holy spells hit it powerfully and did much damage, as well as Hunter's ultima spell. I felt a sharp pain go through my side and pierce my heart as I took a hit in the side from Bahamut. I didn't want this. I didn't want to fight them, but we didn't have a choice. Forcing back my pain, I attacked with my blade, combining it with a powerful thundaga spell to finish off the massive dragon.

_**Thank you.**_ Wakka thought sadly as his body faded away and Yu Yevon floated around.

"Blake! You're hurt!" Tori cried as she ran over and healed my wound.

Yeah, I'd noticed, but I wasn't in pain from it. I was numb. I felt the tears falling down my face, but I pushed myself to keep going, despite the unbelieveable pain in my heart. Closing my eyes, I placed my hands in front of me and Summoned the Final Aeon...Anima.

_**I am the last. Save Spira, do not grieve for us.**_ cam the calm voice. I still hadn't gotten a name for him, but he seemed pretty wise.

With no other Aeons to call to help us in this battle, we had an even tougher time as Yu Yevon possessed the body.

"Tori, act as back up and use your Holy spells!" Cam called as he rushed forward.

Dustin turned his back on the battle and mixed a grenade and two white gems that he had. Turning back around, he pulled the pin and threw the item into the battle, heavily damaging Anima.

Tori swallowed heavily as she cried, closing her eyes and focusing, casting Holy on Anima.

Hunter shook his head, his own sparkling blue eyes filled with tears as he trembled slightly and cast a barrage of wateraga spells at Anima.

The Aeon slumped and began to fade away, leaving the image of a man in a long red coat with long black hair back in a ponytail. _**You have done well. Only one battle left.**_ he said with a strained smile as he faded away.

Yu Yevon appeared in front of us, an undescribable howl echoing around the deck of the airship. The ball of light twisted, forming a solid shape, and he turned into a giant black tick.

With a glare and growl, I stood up straight, pulling Tori along beside me. "It's time." I said lowly as I felt the hatred bubble up inside me. This..._thing_ had caused so much suffering. Well...not anymore! "Ready?" I called, bringing my arm in front of me.

Tori nodded, a look of utter rage crossing her face. "Ready!" she called. "Nina Storm!"

"Thunder Storm!"

"Ranger Form! HA!" We called together, morphing and taking our poses. "Ninja Ranger Power!"

The final battle was about to begin!

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Wow...ok I'M nervous about the ending LOL. The next chapter will likely be the happy ending, followed by the sad and preview...which I've been teeling you for a while. Sorry. LOL. I'm nervous about it myself, waiting to see how I do it. That's right, I have no idea yet. I'm just going to go with the flow:)

Anyways, I realize that the Aeons battles were short and ran on, but I know I'm not that great at doing lots of battles, and I didn't feel up to describing them all in minute details.

Still, I hope you like this chapter.

R+R please.

Thank you everyone. :)

Tenshi.


	41. Happy Ending, Ending 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ok...ending part 1...Happy Ending is coming up next.

**Special Thanks** -

**JuseaPeterson** - I know everyone wanted a happy ending, so here it is. I am going to try the sequel after I finish this fic, but I wanted to have a happy ending as well for everyone. Thank you so much for your reviews and encouragement.

**Pinklen98** - Happy ending is up. Next chapter will be the same battle and the sad ending...as well as a slight preview for the sequel. Thank you so much for your reviews and comments. They were very encouraging, and I'm glad you liked my fic.

**OB1follower/ThunderBrosRule27** - Thank you for your reviews and comments. I'm glad you like my fic. I hope you like the little brother bit I included, and there will be more with the sad ending. The sequel won't likely have much brotherly love in it simply because Hunter won't be part of the travelling group this time, but you'll see why when I get to the fic. :)

Thank you to everyone for the encouragement. This chapter is shorter, sorry, but likely, the next chpter will probably be pretty long, due to some other things I need to include, which I am not mentioning any more of because I don't want to give it away.

Sad ending is coming, but I promise, there are no character deaths. I realize I said I didn't like character deaths, and then had Cam be undead, sorry about that.

Anyways...On to the happy ending...

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(The End, Part 1)

"Ew, gross! He reminds me of the scarabs from The Mummy!" Tori mumbled as he tiled her head and stared at the black thing that floated in the air in front of us.

With a determined nod, I kept my back to everyone as I grabbed my Navy Antler. "Everyone!" I called, catching their attention. "This is the last time we fight together, okay?" I asked, my voice softening.

"Huh?" Shane asked with a shocked and confused look on his face.

"What I'm trying to say is...after we fight Yu Yevon..." I looked to Tori who nodded slowly. "After we fight and beat Yu Yevon...we'll disappear!"

Hunter looked pained and confused. "What...are you talking about?" he asked hesitantly.

Behind my helmet, I winced. I felt like I was leaving my brother behind all over again. "God, bro." I mumbled. "I'm so sorry." With a shake of my head, I took a painful breath and sighed heavily. "I'm saying goodbye!" I cired as tears kept falling.

Dustin seemed to blink back tears. "Not now." he almost whispered in denial.

Taking a step towards the fiend, I growled.

Tori walked up beside me and seemed to shake a bit. "I know it's selfish, but..." she began softly. "This is our story!" she cried.

Tori and I attacked in tendem fighting the big black tick, and doing the most damage. "Tor, cast Holy!" I cried, realizing that, that spell would probably work the best.

She nodded and raised a hand on frot of her face. A moment later, and a circle of balls of light lowered from the sky and surrounded Yevon. One-by-one, each light exploded, sending a beam of energy through the fiend, and then a large white pillar of light surrounded him, exploding and injuring him heavily.

I noticed the stone pillars on either side of him were healing him ever so slightly and realized that we couldn't afford that, o I focused my attention on them, sending out navy blasts of energy that disintegrated them with one hit.

Yevon let out a high pitched scream as Tori cast another Holy, and Cam followed up with another Tornado attack.

Shane spun his blitzball on his finger, causing it to ignite on fire, and then threw it up in the air, jumping up and kicking it, sending it flying towards the fiend.

Hunter raised his hand and cast ultima, effectively finishing off the monster, and we watched as it slowly began to fade away. Tori and I powered down, and she moved to stand at the edge of the deck with her staff, as she began to dance.

She was sending the dead. The Aeons, Jecht, those lost souls that resided in Sin, and Yu Yevon. They were all seing sent to the Farplane. In fact, so was Sin himself.

Sin exploded in a blast of pyreflies, sending a massive shockwave through the sky, but the airship stayed where it was, floating in place as the pyrefly filled sky sparkled around everyone.

Spinning, Tori suddenly stopped dancing as she saw the pyeflies rising from Cam's body. He chuckled slightly and walked forward. "Don't stop." he said softly as he walked just past her.

"But I..."

He shook his head and turned around. "It's all right." he assured her. "It's been long enough. This is your world now."

_Uhhh...actually...it isn't._ I thought dryly as she resumed dancing.

The Aeons suddenly appeared in transparent form, floating in the sky, perfectly still as they were sent one by one, fading away into a cloud of pyreflies.

Tori finished the dance and frowned at herself. She raised her hand, which was glowing softly, and looked at me.

I nodded back, feeling a strange tugging in my own body as I walked forward. "It's time to go." I said softly as I offered her a small smile. I looked to the others, seeing their sad faces and looked to the ground.

"We have to go home now." Tori said quietly as she took my hand. She leaned forward and kissed me lightly. "Our friends and family are waiting for us."

I kissed her back as a tear fell from my eyes. "I have to say this before I lose my nerve." I said with a slight chuckle. "Tori, I love you."

Her bright blue eyes widened a moment befre she blushed and ducked her head. "I love you too." she whispered, but I still managed to her her.

"We're gonna see you again?" Dustin cried.

Turning to look at him, as bad as it made me feel, a part of me hoped not. At least, not from this world. Without answering, I shrugged and walked backwards to the edge of the deck, Tori standing by my side. "Goodbye!" I called.

Tori waved and together we turned to face the orange clouds below us, knowing that our way home laid down there. With a nod, I took her hand and hled on tightly. We jumped together, falling into the clouds, and seeing faint images of many people we met on our journey. Even though we were going home, I knew...I'd never forget them.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in oue eyes and I cried out, covering my eyes instinctively and letting go of Tori's hands. The last thing I remembered, was hearing someone calling my name as darkness overcame me.

(Ninja Ops, Tori's POV)

When I finally came to, I was back in Ninja Ops. I was actually confused for a moment, not recognizing it. I guessed, it was because I'd spent so much time on another world. When I sat up, I noticed Blake lying next to me, unconscious and on a separate table.

That's when I reognized the Ninja Ops med room.

For a minute, I frowned, wondering what we were doing here, and if anything I'd remembered, had actually happened.

A groan next to me made me look over to see Blake slowly stirring. I blushed, remembering how we told each other we loved each other, and I seriously hoped it hadn't been a hallucination or dream.

"Blake?" I called hesitantly, not really sure of how to ask.

He looked at me and blinked a moment, before looking at my face and body, then looking at himself. "We're back." he croaked.

"Back." I repeated.

He looked at me and smiled, leaning up from the table and hopping off it, coming over and hugging me tightly. I returned the hug slowly, feeling tears come to my eyes as I remembered everything that happened. "We're really back?"

Pulling away, Blake cupped my face in his hands and smiled, his eyes dancing with joy. "We're really home!" he cried before pulling me into a deep kiss.

I felt my face heat up as my eyes widened, but it reminded me of the other kisses we shared and I closed my eyes, feeling tears fall down my face as I kissed him back, wrapping my hands around his neck.

"Get a room you two!" an all too familiar voice called with a laugh.

We pulled apart to see all our friends, our _earth_ friends, standing in the doorway, smilig or laughing at us. Cam turned to Hunter and pushed him slightly as he raised an eyebrow. "In case you hadn't noticed...they _are_ in a room!" he shot back dryly.

I turned to Blake, seeing the joy in his eyes as he stared at his older brother. I also saw the confused and worried look in Hunter's eyes when he noticed as well.

"Blake? Bro, you alright?"

That did it. That one _bro_ sent Blake launching himself at his brother and I laughed as Blake knocked them both to the floor and he laughed and cried, sobbing and mumbling about how much he missed everyone.

I took my own approach, launching myself at Cam, who I'd come to see as an older brother, and hugging him tightly. Then I pulled away and went over to Dustin and Shane, giving them each a tight hug.

Hunter had managed to push his crying little brother off him, a terrified and also slightly amused glint in his eyes as he stared at me. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, I sent him careening back to the floor, his arms full of Water Ninja as I hugged him tightly.

I heard Blake begin to laugh and pulled back far enough to look at him, seeing the highly amused look on his face as he pointed at Hunter's. Pulling a little farther away, I looked up and sure enough, Hunter was pale and holding his hands at his side. Giving me a shocked look and then shooting Blake a look that said 'what the hell?'.

I pulled away from Hunter and crawled quickly over to Blake, holding him tightly after crawling into his lap. "We're really home." I said in shock as I felt tears falling.

He nodded. "They really sent us back." He smiled and looked at me. "I told you I'd be with you always."

Shaking my head, I kissed him passionately and held him close.

I knew we'd have fun explaining and prooving everything to the others, but I could still feel my new spells. I turned to Cam and pointed over to the bed I had been lying on, before casting a fire spell and lighting the bedding on fire. Everyone looked at me in shock, and I grinned.

Blake nodded before pointing to the burning bedding and using an ice spell to freeze the flames.

I giggled against his side. This was going to be fun.

We were home, and we were together. Nothing would ever tear us apart again!

**THE END part 1**

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Ok, was it me, or did Tori seem a little psychotic in the ending? Oh well...probably the relief of being home after all this time.

Well, I hope you liked it. I'm going to get working on the ending and sequel...er..I mean the _second_ ending and the sequel _preview._ I'm going to take a bit of a break before I actually do the sequel itself.

Anyways...R+R please!

Thank you everyone for your support:)

Tenshi.


	42. Sad Ending, Ending 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : This is the second last chapter of the story. The Sad Ending...wwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!

I really hate sad endings!

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(Ending 2, Sad)

"Ew, gross! He reminds me of the scarabs from The Mummy!" Tori mumbled as he tiled her head and stared at the black thing that floated in the air in front of us.

With a determined nod, I kept my back to everyone as I grabbed my Navy Antler. "Everyone!" I called, catching their attention. "This is the last time we fight together, okay?" I asked, my voice softening.

"Huh?" Shane asked with a shocked and confused look on his face.

"What I'm trying to say is...after we fight Yu Yevon..." I looked to Tori who nodded slowly. "After we fight and beat Yu Yevon...we'll disappear!" At least, I _hoped_ it would be 'we' and not just me.

Hunter looked pained and confused. "What...are you talking about?" he asked hesitantly.

Behind my helmet, I winced. I felt like I was leaving my brother behind all over again. "God, bro." I mumbled. "I'm so sorry." With a shake of my head, I took a painful breath and sighed heavily. "I'm saying goodbye!" I cired as tears kept falling.

Dustin seemed to blink back tears. "Not now." he almost whispered in denial.

Taking a step towards the fiend, I growled. "I know this is selfish but...this is my story!" I cried.

Tori and I attacked in tendem fighting the big black tick, and doing the most damage. "Tor, cast Holy!" I cried, realizing that, that spell would probably work the best.

She nodded and raised a hand on frot of her face. A moment later, and a circle of balls of light lowered from the sky and surrounded Yevon. One-by-one, each light exploded, sending a beam of energy through the fiend, and then a large white pillar of light surrounded him, exploding and injuring him heavily.

I noticed the stone pillars on either side of him were healing him ever so slightly and realized that we couldn't afford that, o I focused my attention on them, sending out navy blasts of energy that disintegrated them with one hit.

Yevon let out a high pitched scream as Tori cast another Holy, and Cam followed up with another Tornado attack.

Shane spun his blitzball on his finger, causing it to ignite on fire, and then threw it up in the air, jumping up and kicking it, sending it flying towards the fiend.

Hunter raised his hand and cast ultima, effectively finishing off the monster, and we watched as it slowly began to fade away. Tori and I powered down, and she moved to stand at the edge of the deck with her staff, as she began to dance.

She was sending the dead. The Aeons, Jecht, those lost souls that resided in Sin, and Yu Yevon. They were all seing sent to the Farplane. In fact, so was Sin himself.

Sin exploded in a blast of pyreflies, sending a massive shockwave through the sky, but the airship stayed where it was, floating in place as the pyrefly-filled sky sparkled around everyone.

Spinning, Tori suddenly stopped dancing as she saw the pyeflies rising from Cam's body. He chuckled slightly and walked forward. "Don't stop." he said softly as he walked just past her.

"But I..."

He shook his head and turned around. "It's all right." he assured her. "It's been long enough. This is your world now."

_Uhhh...actually...it isn't._ I thought dryly as she resumed dancing.

The Aeons suddenly appeared in transparent form, floating in the sky, perfectly still as they were sent one by one, fading away into a cloud of pyreflies. Suddenly, I felt weird. I honestly didn't know how to explain it, but I felt like I was...fading...or something.

Looking at my arms, I noticed how they glowed and went transparent before solidifying. I wasn't sure how to feel. Though I knew it meant I was going home, I didn't know about Tori.

I looked up at her and saw her looking confused, tilting her head a little as she watched me. She didn't seem to be glowing at all or anything, so what was happening?

_**You're going home.**_ came Cam's faint voice from my mind. _**It's time for you to return.**_

I looked down at the deck of the airship. _But...Why isn't Tori glowing or fading in and out, like me?_

Cam seemed to sigh, and I sensed his sadness, making me grow alarmed. _**Because she is still needed in Spira.**_

No... I couldn't leave her. I couldn't go home without her! I promised her always!

_**I'm sorry.**_

Shaking my head, I couldn't believe it. Part of me knew he hadn't said for how long, or that it would be forever, but I still felt my heart break. It reminded me of when I betrayed he to get into Ops. I had lied them and betrayed her feelings, and it felt like I was doing the same now.

"Blake?" Tori called hesitantly.

I looked back down at my arms, seeing them fading in and out and sighed as I placed them on my hips and looked at the deck of the airship. Taking a deep breath, I looked up into her face and nearly lost it when I saw the heartbroken look in her eyes. "I'm sorry Tori. I gotta go." I said quietly, trying to keep my voice steady. I looked at the others and knew I'd have to leave now, or I'd lose it completely. "Goodbye!" I cried as I walked quickly to the edge of the deck.

"Hey!" Shane called as he frowned and tears came to his eyes.

Dustin shook his head and let his tears fall freely. "We're gonna see you again...?" he put in almost desperately.

Hunter remained silent as we watched everything, his own tears falling.

Behind me, Tori was shaking her head as tears fell from her eyes. A disbelieving and hurt look crossed her face before she shook her head again and took off.

"TORI!" Hunter called, making me turn around as I was half way across the deck. I saw her running towards me and opened my arms, when the unthinkable happened.

Instead of latching onto me and crying her eyes out, maybe yelling at me how much she hated me, she fell right through me. I gasped for air, trying to breathe as I looked at my hands, almost completely gone as the rest of my body began to slowly fade. I felt my own tears falling as I watched pyreflies swarm the deck, flying around and through me, and disappearing into nothing.

I heard movement behind me, knowing Tori was getting up from where she had fallen on the deck. I wanted so badly to turn and hold her tight, hug her and never let her go, but I knew I couldn't. I wasn't solid enough anymore in this world.

Looking at my morpher, I knew that if it had been the cause, I would've taken it off and thrown it over the edge of the ship, bit it wasn't that. It was the remaining power of the Aeons.

But still...I didn't want to leave. I promised Tori always, I promised her I'd always be with her, and they were dragging me away! I opened my mouth, trying to say something, but for all my mouth moved, no sound came out.

I guessed...I wasn't real enough to speak anymore.

"I love you."

Spinning around, I saw that her back was to me, and for a moment, questioned if I'd actually heard those words. Walking slowly up to her, I wished I had told her how I felt before. I wished we had more time. Wrapping my arms losely around her shoulders, though I knew we couldn't actually touch anymore, I sighed. Focusing my powers, I managed to get a little more strength.

"I love you too, Tor." I managed to whisper and by the way her head turned slightly, though her eyes remained closed and the tears kept falling, I knew she'd heard me.

With a deep breath, I lifted my head and let my arms fall to my sides as I walked forward, walking _through_ Tori and to the edge of the deck. With a quick shake of my head, I ran forward and leapt off the edge of the deck, leaving behind the woman I loved.

But then again...somehow, I just felt it. We'd meet again.

**(Three Days Later in Luca, Normal POV)**

Tori stood on one of the empty docks of Luca. Raising her hand to her lips, she felt her tearas fall as she whistled as loudly as she could.

There was no answer and she felt her heart break all over again.

_Where are you? You promised me always. Blake, I need you...I...I love you._ she thought sadly as she watched the clear blue ocean toss gently in the breeze. It had only been three days since the defeat of Sin, since Blake disappeared, hopefully back home, and three days since she felt like she'd died. As much as she wanted to lock herself away and cry herself to sleep every night, she felt strangely motivated to keep living.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned and found Hunter with his shaggy blonde hair even more tosseled than usul in the breeze, and his face unusually pale. It turned out he'd come to see Blake as the little brother he'd never had and missed him almost as much as she did. "Tori." he said softly, his voice slightly hoarse. "It's time."

There was no doubt he was struggling not to cry, and she wiped away her tears as she nodded and followed him to the stadium. She'd been asked to speak to the people of Spira about Sin's being gone.

Yeah, she'd started a new era of peace known as the Eternal Calm.

Dustin had decided he was going to go back to Bikanel to help his dad with repairs to Home, and Shane had decided to stay away from blitzball. He'd set eyes on a new girl in the area, Skyla, and even she could tell it was instant love.

Climbing the stairs to the podium she'd be using, she wondered why the Aeons had sent him back alone. They were meant to go back together. She somehow knew the Aeons still needed her, but for what? Sin was gone forever, what else could they possibly need her for? Why did they tear her apart from the man she loved?

Blinking a moment, she realized she was at the podium and peopel were waiting for her to begin speaking. She'd already known what to say, so with a deep breath she focused on the task at hand.

Reassuring the people of Spira, that Sin was gone forever.

"Everyone..." She closed her eyes remembering all the times she and Blake had shared. Their journey to Kilika, where she'd tested him to see if he was _her _Blake, to Bevelle when he'd come to try and save her from Lothor, to Macalania and the kiss they shared.

"Everyone has lost something prescious." she said as she opened her eyes, tears sparkling in their depths. "Everyone here has lost hopes, dreams, and friends. Everybody...Now Sin is finally dead. Now, Spira is ours again." She closed her eyes as more memories flashed through her head. Blake whistling in Luca and teaching her how. The Operation Mi'ihen and her concern when he was blasted off the cliff. Djose, when he'd woken her up and everyone had teased her about her hair.

"Working together...Now we can make a new home for ourselves, and new dreams. Although I know the journey will be hard..."

_Harder than anyone can imagine, without you...Blake._ "We have lots of time. Together, we will rebuild Spira. The road is ahead of us, so let's start out today!"

Taking a deep breath, she suddenly smiled. Part of her _knew_ that one day, she'd see him again. "Just one more thing."

Looking to her left, a lone, navy blue pyrefly fluttered past...

"The people and the friends that we have lost...and the dreams that have faded..." She sighed as tears began to fall and whispered the last words. "Never forget them." _Because I won't._

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On to the Epilogue and preview, all in one chapter. I love this chapter...it's so sad, it made me cry, but at the same time, it has a little happy note in it as well.

I think the Epliogue part of the next chapter will be more along the lines of fillers, to let people know what the other Rangers thought and stuff.

Anways...I hope you like this chapter. I'm almost done the fic.

R+R please!

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	43. Epliogue and Preview of Sequel

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : This is more or less a filler and slight preview. Hope you like it.

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(Blue Bay Harbour, Three Days Later)

When he'd finally come to, he was back in Zanarkand, but instead of the orange sky and massive city that stretched to an ocean on one side and the mountain peaks of Gagazet on the other, the sky was a bright, clear blue and most of the city was submerged. He'd looked around for Tori, only to realize...she wasn't there.

He'd been hoping that maybe she was only needed for a few more minutes or something, but she was still stuck in Spira, while he was home.

Getting home and explaining everything to everyone had been fun. Shane had pushed him up against the wall with his hand against his throat, and Dustin had collapsed to his knees. It seemed, they had had a hard time dealing with each other and being Rangers since Blake and Tori had disappeared, but for Blake to come back alone, telling them Tori was stuck on another planet, possibly another dimension?

**Shane**

(Shane's POV)

When they'd disappeared, I had thrown myself into my skateboarding and training, not really talking to anyone. As a Ranger, I seemed to go back to thinking I could do better alone, and I avoided Ops and the others with every chance I got. Cam had threatened to take away my morpher if I didn't smarten up, but unfortunately for the Green Ranger, I knew better.

Then, Blake came back...alone. No sign of Tori, and I felt strangely betrayed. I knew I shouldn't blame Blake for Tori not coming back. Man, from the looks on his face, he was blaming himself enough. It made me wonder...just what the hell happened? If I hadn't known any better, I would've said it looked like his heart had been ripped out and stomped on. More than once, I heard him muttering about promising her 'always' and being forced to leave her.

I found out soon enough when Blake displayed the talent for being able to harness not only his thunder powers but ice, fire, water and a healing spell. Imagine everyone's surprise when he said that Hunter had taught him the black magic. I didn't think it was possible for anyone's mouth to drop so far open! It would've been hilarious if the situation hadn't been so damn serious!

Sensei asked Blake to explain everything, and at several points in his story, one of us would sit down heavily, or interrupt with a question or comment.

Finding out what happened at the end, I felt guilty for ever doubting him. The way he talked about Tori, even though he didn't actually _say_ he loved her, it was obvious. I really felt bad for the poor guy, and I feared for my friend, who was much like a little sister to me.

Would we ever see her again?

**Dustin**

(Dustin's POV)

Man it was horrible! Blake and Tori had disappeared for I think, close to two weeks. There was no sign of them anywhere and we all blamed Lothor. The next time he attacked, I remember Hunter racing at him in a blind rage, demanding his brother be brought back. Imagine our surprise, when Lothor looked totally lost! He muttered something about us being insane, and about how missing Rangers could be useful, then disappeared.

I didn't know about the others, and I thought that maybe I was being too trusting or naive or something, but that kinda sinched it for me, that he didn't know where they were.

Hunter lost it and ran off for a few days. When he came back, he was all black and blue bruises and really solemn. Apparently, he'd gone back to Zanarkand and looked by himself, only to get attacked by fiend monsters and forced back here.

Can you imagine...Blake came back one day, just popping up seemingly out of nowhere, and was talking about fiends, and Sin and Al Bhed. Cam looked totally interested in what he said, but he lost me at the whole glowing blue spheres that restored strength and allowed people to transport onto a mega airship or something.

I was so worried when I saw Blake come stumbling down the stairs. Hunter had run over to him immdiately, hugging him tightly, and that seemed to like brake a dam or something, as Blake just like broke down and started crying.

It wasn't until the next day when he told us about being taken to a whole new world. I know I'm naive and all that, but even _I_ didn't believe him...

...Until he doused me with a ball of water.

Call me crazy, but isn't that Tor's element?

Well apparently, he was able to also use fire and ice, as well as these weird spells called Life and Cure.

Then he told us everything. I think Cam fainted at the point where he was an undead ghost in that world, and I know I was struggling to remember for a good hour, if Tori and I were cousins, which I'm pretty sur we aren't. Then Blake mentioned that Hunter was a really powerful black mage and had taught him those spells, and it was Hunter's turn to faint.

It would've been pretty funny, if Tori hadn't still been missing.

**Cam**

(Cam's POV)

When Blake went missing, Tori had lost it. She'd gotten angry at me for splitting our group up, even though we all knew searching as a group wasn't the best idea. I did feel guilty that I'd sent him off alone, but before I could open my mouth, she'd left too, running off in the direction Blake ws last seen in, Hunter following behind her.

Only to have Tori disappear as well.

Apparently, Hunter had been attacked from behind. The blast was enough to almost knock him right out, but before he passed out, he'd seen a giant fiend blasting Tori, making her disappear. I didn't think much of it, thinking it was a hallucination, until the day Blake came back.

For the entire time they were gone, I was all too aware of how badly our team was falling apart. Shane wanted nothing to do with anyone anymore, and I think that was a residual effect from losing Skyla, then having Tori and Blake disappear. I think it was fear of the others disappearing as well.

Dustin spent all of his time at the track, when he wasn't zoning out at work. Kelly had asked a bunch of questions, but I managed to stem off her curiosity by saying that a family member of Tori's was gravely ill, and Blake had gone with her for emotional support.

Well I couldn't actually say they were M.I.A., now could I? She'd ask all kinds of questions, and if they returned soon, she'd begin asking them all kinds of questions.

Hunter... Hunter had gone into a deep depression. He pushed everyone away, mumbling about how he lost his only remaining family, and life wasn't worth living, but he kept going anyways.

Then when Blake returned, everyone was happy but confused too. If he came back, where was Tori?

Needless to say, we found out when he began casting 'spells' of elements he'd never been trained in. He explained his journey to us. Everything from our counterparts, to Lothor and other people being there. As he explained a lot of the people, I researched them, finding out they were all former Rangers at some point.

Then of course, the last thing I remembered was him telling everyone I was an undead ghost who had travelled with them and helped them fight evil. I think I was in shock, because everything went black afterwards.

**Hunter**

(Hunter's POV)

When my bro went missing, I felt like my world had just collapsed on me. I remembered all the times we'd hang out and chill, or the times we fought bside each other. I spent the better part of a week, locked up in my room, crying. Of course, I wouldn't admit it to anyone.

I went back to those damned ruins daily, alone, trying to find some hint of my brother. Sure I looked for Tori. As long as I've known her, she's become like a little sister to me, but Blake was number one in my heart, the only family I had left.

I think...part of me was hoping Lothor had my little bro. At least then, we'd know where he was, and we could always reverse whatever mind control Lothor used on him. So, when that evil space freak was obviously lost, I began to lose hope.

Two weeks...two _freaking_ weeks they were gone, and one day, Blake just showed up out of the blue. I don't think I'd ever been so relieved to see my baby bro as he stumbled down the steps to Ops, but...a part of me worried about Tor. I knew Blake's feelings for her, and she was still missing, but he didn't seem to be too confused about it.

In fact, he cried himself to sleep, muttering about how he promised her 'always' and was forced to leave her. The next day, he explained everything to all of us, hesitating in parts or getting real angry or sad in others. I smirked when Cam passed out about hearing about his undead counterpart, and Dustin seemed totally lost when he heard that the other versions of him and Tor were cousins.

Then of course, it was my turn to have my jaw drop when he displayed the magic he'd learned, and then my jaw dropped even further, making me wonder if it fell right off, after he mentioned that _I'D_ taught him those spells. I mean, come on! Me..._ME_ a black mage???

Still, I was pretty worried about my bro. For a good week after he returned, he was totally depressed. There were times when he'd relax and smile, but they were few and far between. He slowly picked himself up, but was never as happy a he used to be.

In fact, he became even broodier than me, from what Dustin says. Remind me to smack him later. I'm not broody!

**Blake**

(Blake's POV)

It hurt so much. Sure, I wasn't alone. I had my friends and my bro, but I still felt lost and alone. I wanted my Tori back, but was that really going to happen?

When I first came back, Shane had come after me, demanding to know where Tori was. Of course, that was after my breakdown in the arms of my brother. You can't imagine how good it was to walk down those steps and hear the words "Bro?" and "Dude! It's Blake!"

For a moment, I was afraid it was another dream, but when I collapsed as my bro held me, I finally let it sink in that I was home. And then, I let it sink in that Tori wasn't.

I wasn't able to tell them anything until the next day, then I sat them all down and took my time, explaining my entire journey, and giving Cam the pouch of items that I surprisingly still had. It was a good thing he put them down though, cause when I asked him if he was still alive, and then explained why, he passed out cold.

I think I was the only one who caught Hunter's snicker, and wondered if my brother had something against Cam or something.

It was kind of funny watching their reactions as I explained everything to them. Shane got all smug about winning a trophy at blitzball...until I mentioned it was their first win in 23 years.

Dustin looked confused when I mentioned he was an Al Bhed, and he and Tor were cousins. He got this look of deep concentration on his face as he muttered about them not being cousins, and as much as I wanted to stress that I was talking about Spira's Dustin and Tori, I held back, enjoying watching him confuse himself.

Hunter's jaw dropped when I mentioned and demonstrated the black magic. I think all it really took was a ball of water over Dustin's head, but decided to show them the other spells as well.

That was all a few months ago. Together, we beat Lothor, freeing the other Ninjas, and I signed a one year contract with Factory Blue. As much as I wanted to stay, being in Blue Bay only served to remind me of the still missing Tori, and the pain I still feel to this day, when I think about the fact that she wasn't here.

Now, I'm travelling around the world, racing my bike, but my mind never strays too far from Spira or Tori. I knew, that the day was approaching, when I'd see her again.

(Two Years Later, London)

I'd just gotten back from a particularly grueling race, when my phone began to ring. Yawning, I looked at the clock that read 3 am, and wondered who the hell would be calling me at a time like this. Shrugging a bit, I answered the phone, thinking it was probably Roger wanting to make plans or something. I'd signed on for another year, though I really didn't need to.

"Hello?"

_"Blake?"_

I almost dropped the phone when I heard Cam's voice on the other end. I mean, sure I kept in touch with them, but it had been so long since i heard any of their voices, and from the sounds of it, Cam had something really important to tell me.

"Yeah. What's up?" I asked, far more awake now.

There was a sigh on the other end. _"There's a strange energy reading coming from Zanarkand Ruins."_

Frowning, I thanked God it was a secure cell phone. Then, what he said, hit me, and I felt my eyes widen. "Wait...you think it could be...?"

He cut me off. _"No. It's strange, but whatever it is, it's matching your morpher signature."_

I looked down to my useless morpher. When we had to fight Lothor the last time, he managed to absorb our powers into Cam's amulet and somehow, they all got drained. Now, no powers laid in his morpher, or anyone else's for that matter, except for Tori's probably, seeing as how she was in another world.

Remembering how the Fayth kept Tori in Spira, after everything we'd done to help them, I felt more than a little jaded, and let out an irritated sigh. "And exactly what do you want me to do about it?"

_"Go check it out. My readings say it's a one-way portal. Whatever's happening, the portal leads out of this world."_

And he's telling me because he knows about my feelings for Tori. With a curt nod, I realized this might've been the chance I was waiting for. "Alright. I'll check it out."

Without even waiting for an answer, I closed my phone and tossed it on my bed after deleting the memory and frying it with my thunder powers. If it was an outgoing portal, I was going to check it out, but if I went missing, I didn't want anyone to trace the call or the caller through my phone.

Sneaking out of the hotel, I Ninja Streaked to the half sunken city of Zanarkand and began looking around.

It didn't take long before I heard some strange music and rounded a corner to see the portal. It was a light blue, and swirled, but I could faintly make out what looked like Luca stadium on the other side.

Without thinking, I found myself jumping through the portal...

Coming out in a crowded stadium as a lift in the center rose, showing Tori, just as I remembered her, in her Summone attire.

Frowning, I wondered, had any time at all passed here? She looked the same.

That's when the music started and her eyes opened. She began walking briskly forward, and twirled around, a light violet light surrounding her and her skirt shortening into a mini skirt, and her shirt changing. Her whole body remained clad with the light violet light, and she danced forward, spinning around to walk back and reach her hand up, catching a microphone as it fell.

Her hair had changed too. No longer was it shoulder length, but it was cropped to just under her ears, flipped out on the ends, and she had a long braided tail of it, wrapped in red ribbon, that hung to her ankles.

I felt my jaw drop as I took in her appearance.

Then she began to sing.

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It's going to take a while before I begin the sequel. I'm going to take a small break and try to get the feeling back in my hands after all this typing.

Yeah, I know I suck at previews and stuff. I hope you liked it anyways.

Thank you for sticking with me for so long, but this is **THE END** of this fic. :D

Ummm...I still don't know the name of my sequel, but I'm currently thinking of **Saving Spira...Again.** Sucks, huh?

Anyways...R+R please...

Thank you everyone. Your reviews were much appreciated through this entire fic.

Tenshi


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